


Courting My Wife

by ljlewis



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 09:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 50,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8974942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ljlewis/pseuds/ljlewis
Summary: Sequel to "I'll Be Better When I'm Older"... Draco has returned from the future with a BIG secret and an even BIGGER problem. He's in love with Hermione. How do you get someone who won't speak to you to fall in love with you? Also, I wrote this in high school and posted it to ff.net. Keep that in mind! It is rife with errors that I don't have it in me to fix at this point, but I think the overall story is good enough to share again. It is the sequel to "I'll Be Better When I'm Older." Check it out, too! http://archiveofourown.org/works/8974846/chapters/20519710





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Strategies

"MALFOY! You HUGE prat you have got some SERIOUS explaining to do!"

"Hello to you too dear," he mumbled. When Dumbledore had said this would be harrowing, he was wrong. It was worse.

"What was that?" she snipped and he winced. "Nothing, it was nothing Hermione I-"

"Hermione you nothing Mal-foy and since when have we been on a first name basis?"

He rubbed his temples, "Don't you think it's a little…immature the way we always call each other by our last names?"

"No."

"Oh well, I…" Draco felt sad as he stared up at the girl he knew so well. How could he have been so stupid before? She was beautiful. How could he have missed that? And those eyes, simply irresistible. Without thinking he took hold of her hand and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She whipped her hand away as if she'd been electrocuted,

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing!" she yelled; aghast, and slapped him across the face. Draco rubbed his sore cheek, not exactly the welcome he was expecting. Where was all the "let's get into the shower Draco," now?

"Hermione I'm sor-"

"It's GRANGER!"

"Right Granger, look I'm really sorry. I'm just feeling really out of sorts right now after being…gone. It's like my whole world has been turned upside down."

She looked livid with disbelief, "Your world's been turned upside down?" she sputtered, "How about this; I've been doubled up with work and duties, not to mention stress, and then there's the fact that everybody blames me for your disappearance! You've got some nerve! And you better have a bloody fantastic explanation!"

Right he thought, time to try a different approach.

"Granger, Granger, Granger," he said smoothly as she crossed her arms across her chest looking wary, "Darling, what's with all the cursing?" he smiled.

Hermione was confused. Had Malfoy just smiled? Was that even possible? And why had he touched her hand? She needed to make a quick exit before things got any weirder.

"Look Malfoy," she said, walking towards the door making his heart drop, "I don't know what you're up to and I don't care. I'm through with worrying about you and with cleaning up the messes you create! Good day. And good riddance!" The door slammed after her.

Damn he thought, his smile fading, I didn't even get anywhere with the smile…

Still. He'd try again; it was all he could do.

But for now he'd have to focus on becoming reacquainted with student life. He checked his stainless steel watch: 10:30. What was he usually doing at this time? Oh drat. He had Transfiguration with the Gryffindors.

But before he could get up Professor Dumbledore entered.

"Professor,"

"Mr. Malfoy," greeted Dumbledore, "Glad to see you're relatively in one piece," he added confidentially, "I just ran into Miss Granger in the corridor."

Draco cleared his throat, "Er-yes I'm afraid she's really not too keen on me sir." A feeling of hopelessness seemed to engulf him.

"Draco, Draco don't worry. This is only your first day back. Did you expect Miss Granger to fall for you right away?"

He turned away from the headmaster's piercing gaze. Actually, he had. "Of course not sir, it's just that Hermione hardly speaks to me. How can I get someone like that to…to want to be with me?"

Dumbledore smiled, "Well Mr. Malfoy I am sure that you are very accomplished in the art of seduction-"

"But I don't want to slee- to seduce her professor!" Draco felt himself redden, "I want to establish something more solid. Something that will last."

"A difficult task to be sure," murmured Dumbledore thoughtfully. He was silent for several minutes and seemed to be deep in thought. "A long time ago," he began softly, "There was a young lady that I found irresistibly captivating. Hard to believe I know, but true. I would act as clever as I could around her; give her a front row seat to the Albus Dumbledore show, if you will. I would always show off my magical abilities and any other mundane talents I possessed. Naturally, she was disgusted and completely turned off; regarding me as a pompous ass," he chuckled, "I'm afraid she was right. I acted terribly."

Draco couldn't see how this was supposed to encourage him.

Dumbledore sighed and continued, "It wasn't till I exposed myself to her, unguarded, that she really took interest," he paused, "Do you understand?"

Draco looked like a deer caught in the headlights. What in the world was the old man rambling about?

"Females love vulnerability Draco. Expose your weaknesses and true feelings and you will surely win her affections. Try to trick her and play her like a deck of cards and you will fail." He glanced at his watch, "Oh dear, I'm afraid I've stayed here far too long discussing strategies Mr. Malfoy. Please excuse me," And Dumbledore swept out of the room leaving Malfoy feeling even more hopeless than before.

He felt damned. There was only so much one devilishly good looking 17-year-old could take! Not even the Boy Wonder had to worry about securing a wife that cursed his very existence. Just thinking about it made him want to collapse on a couch and sleep for a very long time…

His watch beeped jarring him back into reality. 11:15; it gave him just enough time to catch the last thirty minutes of transfiguration. With the Gryffindors. Merlin help him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Unwanted Attention

Every eye was on him as he stumbled into class. McGonagall's mouth pinched in a manner that clearly stated she would be taking points from Slytherin. She didn't even wait for him to take a seat before dolling out the punishment.

"15 points from Slytherin for tardiness."

It didn't seem possible, but his shoulders seemed to slump even lower as he made his way to a chair. Immediately eyebrows rose and foreheads furrowed when his peers realized he was not sitting in his customary seat surrounded by Slytherins. No, it was quite the contrary. He was sitting behind Hermione Granger.

And once again a fever of curiosity gripped the student body of Hogwarts; all dying to know what exactly had happened to the smirking Draco Malfoy.

Finally noticing the bewildered stares from the Slytherins and death stares from the Gryffindors he reached across his desk and tapped Hermione on the shoulder.

Everyone stopped moving.

"Is it alright if I sit here today Her-Granger?"

The room seemed to become ten times smaller. Nobody would believe this. Draco Malfoy had just addressed Hermione Granger and had not insulted her, taunted her, teased her, or annoyed her. Students were purple faced, craning their necks and straining desperately to hear her answer. Hermione, however, didn't even turn around.

"I don't care."

There was a collective intake of breath as everyone began to breathe again and whisper about what had just taken place.

McGongall rapped her wand on her desk to regain control of her class, "Order! ORDER! Silence! Or I will take away 20 points from each House!" But nobody seemed to be listening.

She continued to bang her wand wildly which only beat down on Hermione's already frazzled nerves while she stared determinedly at her hands. And although less than an hour before she had swore to wash her hands completely of the git it was much easier said than done. Especially since he was making it extremely difficult for her! No doubt to punish her for being born with brown hair or something equally prejudice and ridiculous.

Hermione looked up from her hands and found everyone was staring at her. She felt terribly exposed and quickly buried her head in her transfiguration textbook. After trying to begin the day's assignment seven times and failing she gave up. Whether or not she liked to admit it Draco bloody Malfoy was occupying every bit of space in her mind. She felt like ripping her hair out; she needed to scream, to run, to punch something! It was all too much!

She began to catch snippets of the whispers around her,

"Looks seriously wrecked,"

"Her problem!"

"Probably that time of the month-"

"Heartless,"

"Such a major bitch."

She felt tears sting her eyes. Is that really what they all thought? Is that what they all still thought? Her tears were seriously threatening to fall now. She hastily slung her bag over her shoulder and approached professor McGonagall.

"Professor, could I please be excused to the toilets?"

McGonagall peered at her over her glasses and looked concerned, "Is something wrong Miss Granger?"

Malfoy's head shot up from the back of the room. Along with everybody else's.

Hermione could feel the stares and her cheeks glowed red, "No. I'm fine," she lied, McGonagall's sincere expression only making her feel ten times worse. "Well you really don't look fine Miss Granger,"

Oh God, she was going to break down in front of the whole class and be completely humiliated, she could just feel it, she-

"Professor you have to let her go. It's my entire fault," Malfoy had suddenly spoken from the back of the classroom. She was stunned. All heads turned in his direction and she felt supremely relieved.

McGonagall pursed her lips, "Pray tell Mr. Malfoy. What is it that you've done?"

Hermione felt someone's eyes on hers. She looked up and met Malfoy's intense gaze, "I forced her to write my transfiguration paper, the one that I failed and you allowed me to redo."

Hermione was completely thunderstruck. What was he doing?

"She was trying to get away from me so I wouldn't…get mad at her. Plus she's been doubled up with work and duties," his smirk returned, "That's it."

McGonagall turned to Hermione, "Is this true Miss Granger?"

But Hermione found that she was speechless. All she wanted to do was leave the blasted room! Preferably inconspicuously! She looked back at Draco for an answer and his eyes seemed to be pleading with her to just say yes.

"Ye-Yes."

"Alright then," McGongall said, "You may go Miss Granger. And Mr. Malfoy you have detention."

She flew out of the room and sprinted down the halls. She ran until her lungs burned and her legs ached and then she ran some more. She didn't stop until she had reached the Quidditch Pitch, where she flung her bag on the ground and hunched over to catch her breath.

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? What was wrong with the prat? Not once, but TWICE he touched her! In less than an hour! And smiled. And spoke to her civilly. And now this!

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, letting her frustration ring out across the school grounds. She stopped and listened to her anger echoing back to her.

Hermione felt a tear drip off the tip of her nose as her classmates' comments came flooding back. Was she really a bitch? She sniffled and wiped her nose. Did others honestly find her heartless? She began to sob. Sometimes even Ron and Harry would share annoyed looks on her behalf and refer to her as "bossy." She just liked to be organized and wanted to do everything at her best ability and help others do the same. Was that such a crime?

Her sadness became replaced by anger. How dare he make her look bad in front of the entire class? How dare he suddenly make a complete 180 with his attitude and…and defend her? Did he think one hour of good deeds would make up for the seven years he constantly assaulted her feelings? Well he was very, very wrong.

She had every right to be cross with him, and she was. The stress, the grief from her peers, and now the guilt of having him defend her was his entire fault just like he said; and it made her blood boil. She loathed him, she abhorred him, she was sickened by him, she-

"I HATE YOU DRACO MALFOOOYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

And from all the way inside Hogwarts, he heard it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Common Room

Gloom seemed to swirl around Malfoy like Professor Snape's cloak for the rest of the afternoon. He was infinitely glad when he could revert back to the Head Common Room and hide away from all the prying eyes of his peers and the tough questions from his friends. But there was one thing he could not hide from. Hermione's stinging words;

"I hate you Draco Malfoy!"

He laughed sardonically at the irony. A few weeks ago it had been him screaming those exact words at her through her closed door after their run in at New Years. God, it seemed ages ago. What else had he said to her that night? He remembered getting drunk, and then running into her…he stopped himself from remembering any further. It was too painful to relive the things he'd done before.

The only thought that kept him going now was the knowledge that he had still fallen in love with her even after screaming that he hated her. Who knew, maybe their relationship had to progress in stages. Extreme Hate before Extreme Love. If that was so then Draco hoped she was in 'Extreme Denial.'

He sighed; at least they still shared this common room. That was one thing. Draco could probably get her to come to her senses fairly quickly in this arrangement. He felt his heart lift and sat up straight; yeah with all this spare time together in the common room she was bound to fall for him. Absolutely destined even!

That was when the object of his affection entered the room and glared at him like he was the plague.

He slumped back down into the sofa. Oh bugger.

The source of all his pain then proceeded to dump the contents of her book bag onto the coffee table, snap one of her monstrous textbooks open, and seat herself as far as was humanly possible from Malfoy to start working. Double bugger.

Then, tense silence seemed to stretch on for days. Draco couldn't decide which was worse; talking with Hermione and having her shout in reply or not talking to her at all and having her ignore him in reply. He decided the latter.

"So," he cleared his throat uncomfortably, "You have a lot of work to do?" He risked a look at her. She didn't move an inch. His never ending failure with this woman was beginning to make the room feel stuffy and the once comforting fire was starting to make him perspire. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned his collar.

"Gee Hermione;" he saw her stiffen at the mention of her name, "You sure are one tough woman to appease."

She rolled her eyes.

"Oh that's real mature," he goaded, "First the silent treatment and now you're rolling your eyes at me."

She smashed her quill down on the table and fixed him with a look of pure loathing. "Go to hell Malfoy," she whispered venomously.

"Ah," he grinned like a Cheshire cat, "Good to see you're talking."

She sank back against the couch and stared up at the ceiling raising her hands in defeat, "Why do I even bother?" she asked aloud. Because Dumbledore knew she could handle it, her thoughts reminded her miserably.

"Because Dumbledore knew you could handle it," Malfoy answered.

Her head shot up. Had Malfoy just…read her mind? Ew, the very thought made her feel violated in so many ways.

Hermione looked to Draco like she'd just seen a ghost, was it something he'd said? "What?"

"What?"

"You're staring at me."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Oh shut up!"

"What the hell are you holding against me!" He bellowed suddenly. Oh no, he shouldn't have said that, she definitely was not going to like that. It's just…he couldn't help it damnit! He'd been putting everything on the line for her since he'd returned and all he got was grief!

Hermione reeled back at his last comment and stared at him incredulously. Another of their now customary silences followed, in which she managed to compose herself. Hermione started packing her things,

"I am not having this conversation with you Malfoy,"

"What conversation?" he said; playing dumb.

Her composure seemed to crack and she got up right in his face, "I don't owe you an explanation about why I feel the way I do about you," she spat.

"What if I can prove you wrong?" he asked, gazing at her intently.

She laughed with mirth, "Oh please, you've had plenty of chances to change my opinion of you and you've always failed miserably,"

She gave him a scornful look, "You can't change Draco Malfoy."

She stared into his steel gray eyes. Ha she thought; seeing he wasn't going answer back Even the great Draco Malfoy didn't have a response for that. She smiled to herself and turned triumphantly. Hermione 1 Draco 0.

"Neither can you."

What? She wheeled around and narrowed her eyes.

Malfoy smirked, oops he remembered quickly, no more smirking. He quickly rearranged his features into a rather fetching smile. Oh the look on her face was priceless!

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me Hermione"

"Stop that"

"Stop what?"

"Stop calling me Hermione!"

"Why?"

"Because…because I don't like it!"

"Why?"

She sighed and rubbed her temples with her fingers. She felt a serious headache coming on. "I don't know why I'm still standing here," she mumbled wearily. She gave him a pitiful glance, "I'm not doing this."

She started walking briskly towards her bedroom, but Draco couldn't let her go. He grasped her shoulders and turned her around to face him,

"Hermione please, hear me out. Something happened to me and I…I need your help, you need to trust me-"

She waved her hands drowsily to cut him off. "No. Please stop Malfoy, I don't want to hear it," Hermione looked mournfully around the room. "The last time I saw you I was trying to help you back to the common room because you were drunk. Do you remember?"

He looked away quickly. He did, but he didn't want to.

"And you're right, I can't change. Even when my worst enemy and scumbag is lying on the floor my conscience will not let me just pass him by," she clenched her jaw and balled her fists; the memory was making her angry, "Then you saw my necklace, do you remember that too?"

God, why did she have to do this?

"And you said to me 'It's beautiful,' and stupid me," she gestured to herself, "I actually believed it was an honest to god compliment," she laughed humorlessly, "Well you made sure that belief was rectified quickly, didn't you?"

He shakily looked up at her and she stared back with a look of such deep disgust it broke his heart.

"Stop," he croaked, "I've heard enough-I'll never bring this up again I-" But she ignored him and ploughed on.

"'Too beautiful for you,'" Hermione finished stonily.

He had to get out of here, having his past mistakes repeatedly flung in his face was not what he needed right now. "You were right," he said gravely, "This was not a good conversation to have." And with that he sped off to his bedroom to hide. Like the wimp that he was. Like the wimp she had made him become. He punched a pillow in frustration; how could things be going so completely and utterly wrong?

Hermione entered her bedroom a few hours later still feeling riled up after her latest encounter with the git across the hall. She shook her head with disbelief, what was making him act so uncharacteristically...uncharacteristic? She furrowed her brow in concentration, if only she could find out where he had gone to-

No. No way. She had promised herself that she would have nothing further to do with him and so she wouldn't. Nothing could change her mind on this. Nothing could-

Tap, tap, tap. Ooo what was that? She saw one of the school owls pecking at her window and quickly crossed the room to let him in. "Hello there," she cooed, "Have you got something for me?" He released a creamy envelope on her bed and then flapped out the window without so much as a backwards glance, "Alright then," she said uncertainly, "Goodbye…"

She honed in on the envelope and tore it open. A gasp escaped her throat.

"Oh my!" It was her necklace! Her gold necklace! It was returned at last! It was-she froze as realization hit her…that would have to mean that…that Malfoy,

A note floated out of the envelope, onto her pillow, and before she could stop herself, she was reading it.

I'm sorry. I had this fixed and hope that it is as good as new. I also hope that you will allow me to fix what I said that night.

You are the one who is too beautiful for it

Goodnight.

She let her arms drop limply to her sides while a tiny whimper escaped her.

Draco Malfoy couldn't change…could he?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Necklace Returns

Hermione didn't get a wink of sleep that night.

And when the morning arrived, far more quickly than she would have liked, she still did not have a plan.

How should she respond?

Should she ignore it, never mention it? Should she apologize for her earlier behavior? Should she thank him, but remain angry? Should she wear the necklace? Should she hide the necklace and pretend she had never got it? Should she give it back to him and not accept it? Should she never speak to him ever again for the rest of her life?

Goooooooood why did this have to happen? She hadn't done anything to deserve this! She hadn't asked for this! All of this…this complicated messiness that the blasted ignoramus had created!

Hermione sighed and for the fifteenth time, looked over at her night table and groaned. "Damn," she said to the crumpled note, "You didn't disappear."

Maybe if she read it again, just one more time. Just to double-triple-quadruple-millionuple check that it was real. She reached over heavily and retrieved the note; smoothing it out over her comforter.

I'm sorry. I had this fixed and hope that it is as good as new.

Hermione looked up in despair; not able to continue reading even though, after so many perusals, she knew what was next.

I also hope that you will allow me to fix what I said that night.

Her mind rang on painfully, reminding her of his words that even now, she could find no fault with. No shrouded insult, no hidden jab. It was so…just so Un-Malfoylike. And she had no idea how to handle a Draco Malfoy that was not acting like Draco Malfoy.

The minutes dragged by as she sat in a thoughtless stupor, all the while falling deeper and deeper into despair. Until it was enough.

Right. Sitting here like a pathetic little girl wasn't going to do her any good. There was only one thing for her to do. She would make a run for it.

Hermione stuffed the note in her cloak, clipped the necklace around her neck and hid it under her shirt, pulled her hair back, and shouldered her book bag. She was ready.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she opened the door. It opened soundlessly and she let out a giant sigh of relief. So far, so good. Next, she began to inch her way across the stone Common Room and towards the door. The distance seemed to swell before her eyes. How would she possibly escape unnoticed?

She balled her fists and squinted in determination, Just do it, her mind chanted, Run! Run and get out of here!

With a fierce rush of adrenaline Hermione bolted for the door, she was so close, almost there, just a few more inches-

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"she shrieked; jumping up several feet in fright.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Draco screamed back; equally as loud and equally as shocked as Hermione. He had just returned to the Common Room to find her running at him like a thief from the police.

"Christ Malfoy! What the bloody hell are you doing!"

She didn't look like she'd had any sleep. What time was it anyway?

"Opening doors when people are trying to get through them!" she ranted on.

"Relax Hermione," he said; raising his hands in a peaceful gesture, "I'm not trying to trip you up, besides, why are you in such a hurry?" he asked.

Hermione's expression paled impressively as if she was remembering something. "I-I-I," she sputtered. Oh this was so uncomfortable! What was she supposed to say to him? After what he'd written?

"Please, I have to go,"

Draco let the frazzled girl pass, feeling extremely confused. Did he really disgust her so much? Could she not even be in the same room with him anymore? He kicked the couch glumly and slumped down into it. How could he please her? He released a deep breath knowing that he did not have the remotest idea.

How should he respond?

Hermione tried to hurry through the Gryffindor Common Room unnoticed. She stared firmly at the floor and snaked her way around students and furniture until she reached it.

The sixth year girls' dormitories. She knocked firmly on the door and kept her composure until the door opened and Ginny Weasley appeared on the other side. Boy was she glad to see her.

"Ginny!" she exclaimed and threw herself on her friend in a big hug.

"Hey Hermione," said Ginny, after Hermione finally released her, "It's good to see you, but it's like seven in the morning!"

Hermione looked at her watch in surprise; so it was! "Sorry Gin," she whispered, "I just had to see you. I need some…er…help."

Ginny's eyes widened in understanding, "Ah, of course. I'll grab my cloak."

"Thanks Ginny."

Their shoes crunched through the late January snow on the grounds as they made their way towards the greenhouses. It was always a good spot to exchange secrets and still remain shielded from the whipping wind.

Ginny looked at Hermione expectantly. Hermione reached under her shirt and showed her the necklace.

"Oh!" Ginny gasped, "You're necklace! But how did you get it back?"

Hermione pulled the note out of her pocket, "It was returned to me last night by an owl, with this." She held out the note to Ginny.

"I'm sorry. I had this fixed and hope that it is as good as new," Ginny mumbled,"I also hope that you will allow me to fix what I said that night. You are the one who is too beautiful for it. Goodnight." She looked at Hermione, "But that doesn't make any sense, what does he mean you are too beautiful for it?"

Hermione's head shot up, "How do you know it's a he?"

Ginny snorted, "Well it's a bit obvious isn't it?" she looked up at her friend knowingly, "It's a love letter Hermione, can't you tell? And a very peculiar one at that, it's sort of like a riddle, which means he must be smart. Right up your alley!"

Hermione covered her face with her hands and groaned, "Nooo, no, no no! Ginny, it can't be a love letter."

"And why not?"

"Because it's from Draco Malfoy,"

"What?"

"BECAUSE IT'S FROM DRACO MALFOY!" Hermione stood and yelled at the top of her lungs.

Ginny stared up at her friend feeling a little bit frightened, "Hermione, are you alright? You're not…in love with him are you?"

Hermione sank back down beside Ginny and laughed amicably. "No Ginny, I'm not in love with him," she exhaled, "Sorry for freaking out."

Ginny brushed her apology aside, "Don't worry about it. You're stressed, you're confused, and you've definitely come to the right girl for help," Ginny got a mischievous glint in her eye, "So, what happened that night?"

Hermione smacked her playfully on the arm, "Ginevra Weasley! This is so not a laughing matter!"

Ginny laughed, "I know, I know. You are just so easy to tease." Her laughter subsided and her expression became serious. "Draco Malfoy huh?"

Hermione released a breath skyward, "Yep."

"Wow."

"Yep."

"How long has this been going on?"

Hermione made a disgusted noise, "See, this is what I'm afraid of! Of people thinking this is a this! I mean it's not anything! It's nothing!" Hermione's heart was sinking, "He just returned yesterday and already people are talking. People are…whispering things about me," she sniffled.

Ginny put her arm around her friend, "I don't care what those idiots are saying," she said defiantly, "I want to know the real story. From you. What has got you so upset?"

Hermione laughed as tears began to slide down her cheeks, "Oh it's so stupid," she sniffled, "It's really nothing."

"Hermione!"

"OK!" She cleared her throat, "I was in the hospital wing yesterday when he returned and that's where it gets strange. He called me Hermione and then he held my hand."

"No!"

"Yes! I was just as confused as you are! It was so out of character…so I slapped him."

"Oh dear," Ginny giggled, "That's twice now. Not a very good track record,"

"Yeah well, I knew he was up to something," Hermione continued, "I left the hospital wing and went to class and he showed up a few minutes later. That's when he sat behind me and it was so awful because everyone was absolutely gawking at us and then he asked if it was alright that he sat behind me and I said I didn't care and then I asked to use the toilet and McGonagall got mad and he DEFENDED ME! THE NERVE! I WAS HUMILIATED!"She was up on her feet again, "HE JUST…HELPED ME OUT!"Her face flushed a brilliant shade of crimson.

"So you're mad at him because he was nice to you?" Ginny asked warily.

"YES!" Hermione raged on, "Because it's thrown me off guard! It's unfair! I can't compete with him when I'm at such a disadvantage!"

Ginny was laughing in disbelief, "You're angry because you think he's trying to trick you!"

Hermione looked fierce, "Nobody likes to be made a fool out of Ginny. People already think horrible things about me, now they're going to think I'm Malfoy's play thing. Something to amuse him," she sniffed indignantly, "I will not be his amusement."

Ginny was still chuckling, "Hermione!" she exclaimed, "I think you've got this all wrong! It just sounds like he's trying to be nice to you. That's all. He's probably trying to patch things up; perhaps he's had an attack of conscience,"

Hermione snorted, "Unlikely,"

"I'm serious! Has he done anything to prove otherwise? And writing that note and returning your necklace; it's all so sweet! Even you cannot find a fault there-"

"Exactly. That's what makes it all the more suspicious. Mark my words Ginny, he is up to something. And I refuse to fall prey to his game."

"Why are you wearing the necklace then?" Ginny fired back.

Hermione covered it protectively, "To show it to you of course,"

Ginny looked unconvinced. She paused before speaking again, "Be careful Hermione."

"Excuse!-"

"Just be careful. It seems like Malfoy has something much more serious in mind than a silly prank. Something you can't hide away from with me out by the greenhouses," Hermione gaped at her friend, "Let's get back."

"You don't mean?-"

"Let's get back Hermione."

Back in the Common Room Draco was tearing his bedroom apart. Of all the things to go missing this was the one thing he could not afford to lose! He'd part with everything else, but not this! He needed this! It was his key to winning Hermione.

He was also missing the note that he had written along with it. The note that he had torn into a million tiny pieces and chucked in the bin. It was gone.

He was still searching wildly when she returned. She poked her head in and he could feel her stare on the back of his head. He turned around to face her cautiously. Was it possible that she wanted to talk? To him?

She gave him a small smile, "Hi. I-er," she sounded nervous, "I just wanted to say thank you, you know, for…you know."

Draco was confused. What was she talking about? Thank you for not bothering her that morning?

She reached under her shirt and exposed it. The thing he had been searching for all afternoon.

"Thank you," she beamed.

But Malfoy could not believe it. Hermione Granger had broken into his bedroom and stolen the necklace.

And he could not remember feeling more betrayed.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Back in the Shower

Hermione's smile began to fade.

Malfoy still hadn't said anything, and his expression was completely unreadable.

"It was very nice of you to uh…get it ready," she said softly.

Malfoy laughed meanly at her boldness, "I'm just surprised that you found it," he said acidly.

"Well it was really obvious," she babbled nervously, "I mean I'd have to have been an idiot to miss it!"

His anger began to flare. How dare she mock him?

"Still, I'm even more surprised that you took it," he spat.

Hermione looked at him quizzically, "Well why wouldn't I? It was given to me wasn't it? It belongs to me."

"Be that as it may," Malfoy leered, "I thought even your parents would have taught you better manners Granger."

Hermione turned red with rage, "How dare you?" she cried. "I thanked you didn't I!" Although now I'm not even sure you deserved that!"

"Oh ho, that's rich Granger," he retorted venomously, "Coming from a witch like you."

Hermione released a war cry and charged at him. Draco caught the blow full in the stomach and lost his balance, sending them both toppling over onto his bedroom floor. Draco was winded, but Hermione was still fighting; scratching and clawing at every spare bit of him that she could find. It took him a full two minutes to grab onto her wrists and subdue her. Hot, angry tears were pouring down her cheeks,

"DON'T YOU EVER INSULT MY FAMILY AGAIN!" she roared, "DON'T YOU EVER THINK OF ME OR LOOK AT ME OR SPEAK TO ME EVER!" she twisted her wrists out of his grasp, "DON'T TOUCH ME!" she shrieked and jumped away from him, "I HATE YOU MORE THAN ANYBODY ELSE IN THE WORLD!"

She ripped her necklace off and threw it in his face violently, "AND TAKE THIS!" she said, breathing heavily, "It's worth nothing to me now."

She strode fiercely to her bedroom and nearly threw the door off its hinges from slamming it so hard.

Draco was shaking. He knew that he was completely screwing up any chances that he had with Hermione, but he couldn't help it. He had never felt like this before, felt the sting of being hurt by someone he truly, deeply loved.

He ran his hands through is hair and growled in frustration; what was he supposed to do now? He couldn't stay here; she would hate that, hell he couldn't even think straight at the moment!

But then again, maybe that was just what he needed. To not think straight. Yes, he thought as he slipped outside and into the corridor, that was just what he needed…

Hermione Granger cried. She cried out of humiliation, she cried out of anger, and yes, she cried because of Draco Malfoy. How could she have ever thought that he would do something nice for her? After all these years of torment, how could she still be fooled so easily by one lousy note? It was pathetic was what it was. That she, the smartest witch of her year, could be duped into thinking the biggest git on the planet had changed.

"So why does it hurt so much?" she said, finally asking aloud what she had been wondering for the past hour. Was it possible that she still clung to the age old belief that there was good in everyone, even in Malfoy? Was it completely unthinkable that she might have even hoped there was some good in Malfoy? Was she a traitor because she did?

A lot of good that did me, she thought disdainfully, all I got was a blotchy face and a bruised ego…Well of enough of Malfoy for now, she chided, what I really need is to clean myself up.

Gingerly, she untwisted herself from the bed sheets and set her feet on the floor. "Please don't let him be here, please don't let him be here," she mumbled as she made her way towards the door. She inched it open and peeked out. A wave of relief washed over her as she saw that he was not there. The coast was clear.

She stopped walking halfway to the bathroom. Maybe she should check his room; just to be sure he was totally out because the thought of accidentally running into him made her want to melt into the floor.

Hermione made her way to his door and took a deep breath. The doorknob seemed to hum as her fingers curled around it and she pushed it open. Another wave of relief washed over her; he was gone. Completely and totally gone.

Her heart felt a thousand pounds lighter and she literally leapt with joy; Yippee! Now she could really work off her emotions! She went into her room and grabbed her CD player, which she had magically transformed to work in the wizarding world, and blasted Natasha Bedingfield,

Feel the rain on your skin

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

No one else, no one else

Can speak the words on your lips

Drench yourself in words unspoken

Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten

She cranked on the shower until it was blistering hot, just the way she liked it. And as she sang, rather poorly, she felt her stress wash away with the soapy water slipping down the drain.

An hour later she finished her shower, dressed in her comfiest pajamas, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Bang, Boom, BASH! Hermione's eyes opened drowsily as she was jerked awake,

CRASH!

Jeez! She groped for her watch to check the time: 3:33 a.m.

SMASH.

What the hell could he possibly be doing at three in the morning? Wasn't it a bit early, even for him, to start ruining her day?

CRACK!

She covered her ears with her pillow in despair. Why? Why was this happening?

Another noise sounded from outside her door and she crossed her arms resolutely across her chest. He could destroy the whole school if he wanted to; there was no way in hell that she was coming out.

Suddenly, she was temporarily deafened and blinded. You see, Malfoy had blasted through her wall.

"Don't you dare come in here Malfoy!" Hermione screamed as she watched his silhouette through the cloud of dust that was once her door. All the stress flooded back to her, "I'm warning you Malfoy, do not come in here,"

He emerged from the cloud, but it was too dark to see him properly. Hermione grabbed her wand, "Lumos," she muttered.

His face looked sallow, his hair hung limply over his brow, and his eyes were eerily glazed.

Hermione felt her heart constrict with fear, "Malfoy, are you cursed?" she stammered.

He snickered, "No," he slurred, "Only drunk."

Hermione felt her shoulders relax and she lowered her wand. Being well acquainted with this situation she knew it meant that he was pretty much harmless, she also hoped that he would not remember this encounter or the sight of her fuzzy pajamas.

"I told you that I never wanted to speak to you again," she said venomously.

He snickered again, "Yeah well, we both know that'll never happen,"

She snickered right back at him, "Belief me Malfoy I'm very capable of doing it,"

"Yeah right,"

She set her jaw firmly, "Goodnight Malfoy."

"You could never resist me-"

"I SAID GOODNIGHT!"

She stared at him fiercely and noticed that he looked…strange. He seemed to be struggling just to speak,

"You can't just brush me off that easily Hermione,"

He lurched forward violently and grabbed onto her bedpost,

"Stop the act Malfoy. I hate you and I'm not helping you."

But he didn't respond, he just stared at her floor in a stupor. She felt extremely uncomfortable,

"I really need to get back to sleep…so you can leave…now,"

Nothing.

"I'm serious Malfoy! I have nothing more to say to you!"

Still nothing. Then without warning he doubled over and vomited on her floor. She jumped out of her bed and grabbed him to stop him from lying down in it,

"Merlin Malfoy! How much did you bloody drink?"

He simply lay limp in her arms, which were beginning to burn because he was not light,

"How much did you drink Malfoy?" she enunciated slowly. His head drooped back and his eyes stared up at her unseeingly.

"CRIMITY!" she screamed; feeling slightly hysterical, "I have no idea what to do with a drunken person!"

Think Hermione, Think! She commanded herself, hadn't she read about this in a book somewhere, seen something on TV, ANYTHING?

Aha! On the soap opera her mom watched they had given the man a cold shower.

She looked down at Malfoy and wrinkled her nose in disgust; well he was going to have to shower with his clothes on.

She turned on the water and shoved him in, "In you go," she exclaimed. Immediately he came to life and cried with alarm, "FUCKING HELL!"

Hermione didn't even bother to hide the smile that tugged at her lips, she was rather enjoying this.

He began to shiver and twitch uncontrollably, "JESUS HERMIONE ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?"

She flashed him a huge grin, "No, only trying to sober you up,"

"Then why have you taken me to the shower?" he asked as his lips turned blue, "And why is it freezing? I know you like your showers boiling hot!"

She reeled back. How in the WORLD did he know how she liked her showers?

"How in the WORLD-"

"Everyone likes their showers hot," said Malfoy looking sheepish, "Don't they?"

Hermione glared at him; she was not amused. But she was too tired to argue,

"Well now that you're feeling like your old self again," she ground out, "I'm going back to sleep,"

"No, don't leave," said Draco turning off the shower, "I want to apologize,"

"Malfoy, that shower must not have worked because if it had you'd know that I don't give a damn what you have to say,"

He slumped down to the floor in a wet heap. The room felt like it was spinning. Perhaps this battle was better left for tomorrow.

He sighed miserably and nodded, "'K Hermione, g'night."

Taken aback that he had abated, but not missing her chance to seize the exit, she nipped out of the room and fixed her wall with a quick flick of her wand and a sullen "Reparo."

But as she snuggled down into her blankets she could not relax. Malfoy had looked so helpless tonight…it had been unnerving. What if he really wasn't fine? Should she go back and help him? Or should she stay here out of spite?

With Malfoy, why did she always have to choose?

As soon as she left he realized that he was freezing. He began to shiver like crazy. Right he thought, now all I have to do is get these wet clothes off and get to bed.

He slowly moved his arms and tried to peel off his clothes, but his fingers felt swollen like sausages. He couldn't control them.

Maybe if he stood up and used the counter to lift his shirt up he moved clumsily towards the counter and tried to no avail. God he felt so tired.

He was gripped with the urge to vomit and threw himself at the mercy of the toilet. He felt so funny, like he was swimming, and he felt so sick…like he was dying. That was the last thing he remembered before his head met the cold, stone floor.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Draco's Advantage

After twenty-five minutes of counting sheep, sixteen minutes of reciting the names of the Ministers of Magic, and forty seven minutes of wiggling her toes Hermione could stand it no longer.

Malfoy may not deserve her help, but he was going to get it.

And this time, she remembered as she grabbed her bathrobe; he was not going to see her in her pajamas.

She entered the Common Room and the silence of dawn enveloped her. The sun was just beginning to creep up over the Forbidden Forest. Everything felt so calm…she shivered suddenly…unnaturally calm.

She strode to the bathroom and threw open the door. She cried out in alarm; Malfoy was lying on the floor still dressed in his wet clothes! He hadn't moved since last night,

"MALFOY! WAKE UP MALFOY!"

He was dead still.

"Oh my God," she fretted, "I'm so sorry, I should've come sooner, please don't be dead Malfoy, please,"

She knelt down beside him and held his face, his cheeks felt like ice. "You need warmth," she chattered, "You need to warm up now," she turned on the hot water tap for the bathtub, "And you need to get out of these clothes."

Methodically she began to remove his cold, wet uniform. First the robe, then the sweater, then the socks, and then…it got uncomfortable. But she hesitated only a moment; this was not the time for modesty! Malfoy could die!

She began unbuttoning his shirt. Her fingers grazed his chest and they seemed to ignite, even though he was impossibly cold. She pulled the shirt off of his shoulders and sat him up to get it off of his arms. He collapsed on top of her and she felt her cheeks flare,

Of all the times to be flustered! She chastised herself. But, Hermione Granger would have had to be made of stone not notice Malfoy's nakedness. She had only dreamt of such a back, imagined such broad shoulders, hoped for such a-

He made an indiscernible noise.

"Malfoy!" she exclaimed, "Malfoy can you hear me? I'm going to put you into the bath. You are very cold and if you don't warm up soon you might get hypothermia,"

She stood up and grasped him under the armpits, "Up you go," she puffed as she pulled with all her might. She finally managed to set him on the edge of the bathtub; he was beginning to move,

However, his fingers were fixed tightly around her bathrobe. He began to tip backwards while she tried desperately to pry them off,

"Malfoy let go of me!" she protested, "Let me go!"

But it was too late; she landed face first in the tub. She emerged from the bath coughing up water,

"Oh this is such a disaster!" she whined casting him a sideways glance, "But at least you're not dead."

He couldn't open his eyes but he could feel the delightful warmth creeping through his veins. He was beginning to feel human again,

"No," he croaked, "I'm not dead."

In fact he was feeling better than he had in a long time because She had come back for him. She had saved his life. And even though it took every spare bit of energy he could muster, he opened his eyes so he could look at her. She came into focus and his eyes widened in surprise, she was wearing her fuzzy, pink bathrobe!

He made an attempt at a laugh, "How long have you had that thing?"

She looked down at herself, "This?" she pointed to her bathrobe, he nodded, "I got it last winter. Why? Are you going to make fun of me?"

He shook his head, "No. It suits you."

She looked away quickly and started fidgeting with her hair,

"Am I not even allowed to compliment you?"

She gave him an exasperated look, "Boys like you don't compliment girls like me."

"And what have you based that theory on Miss Sunshine?"

"Why years of your insults and torment of course," she smirked

"Ouch!" he grabbed his heart as if he'd been stabbed and fell back into water. She laughed and pulled him up again,

"Oh please, save me from this melodramatic performance,"

"This is not a performance, I could have died,"

She swirled her fingers around in the water, "Yeah well I'd say you brought that upon yourself,"

"Ooo another low blow to the ego,"

She smiled, "It's no fun if you don't fight back."

He felt his heart ache. He didn't want to fight! That was the last thing in the world he wanted to do and he wanted her so much to know that. He tried to catch her eye but she was too good at avoiding him,

"I don't like to fight with you,"

She snorted, "That's a shame because you're sooo good at it,"

"Only because I have a worthy sparing partner," he countered.

She shook her head, "Most of the time I'm only trying to keep up with you! And I also have my own ego to protect too you know,"

He flashed Hermione a mischievous grin, "Yes I know. It's probably the only one that rivals mine,"

That royal prick! She splashed him with a face full of water. He splashed right back. Before she knew it they were in an all out water war,

"Don't mess with me Malfoy, I'm the Queen of water wars,"

He grabbed a bottle of shampoo and squeezed it all over her head, "Well I'm the KING!"

She grabbed her sides as she started laughing uncontrollably. This was just so fun! The water was so delightfully warm and the shampoo smelled so yummy, plus she got to tease Malfoy and push him around.

She was still in complete stitches when she said it, "How can this be happening with you?" She covered her mouth in surprise; she had not meant to say that! Why had she just said that? And why was she still laughing?

"Hermione Granger, are you trying to say that you're having a good time with me?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"No," she giggled, "I'm just saying it's cruel that you're the one I'm having the good time with." And before he could reply she dunked his head under the soapy water.

When he came back up he felt dizzy, "I feel funny,"

Hermione's demeanor instantly changed, she made him lean back against the bathtub and spoke softly, "Just lie back and relax, you need some rest,"

He looked up at her, "I can't close my eyes when you're around,"

"Well I can't leave alone in the bath you'll drown!"

"OK, then I'll rest with my eyes open."

She sat on the edge of the bath and crossed her arms, "Suit yourself. When you get your energy back I'll help you get to your room. And then…"

He raised his eyebrows, and then what? He wanted to ask. Was it all over after this? Would she go back to hating him? He felt so drained.

"I forgive you," he managed to croak,

She looked confused, "You forgive me? For what?"

"For stealing…" he said hoarsely, barely audible,

"What? Did you say stealing? Malfoy, are you delirious?"

"No," he clamped his jaw, "No I'm not delirious. I just wanted to say that I forgive for stealing back your necklace."

"Oh no," she covered her face, "Don't bring the necklace up again…wait. Did you just accuse me of stealing my necklace?"

"Well what else would you call taking it from my room?"

"Excuse me!" she raged, "I cannot believe you are soooo just such a-a-an unbelievable person! You sent me that stupid necklace! By owl! I thanked him myself!"

Draco was rocked with shock, "What do you mean I sent you the necklace?"

"You sent me the necklace last night! Don't you remember!"

Hermione was so confused. What if she had jumped to conclusions? What if Malfoy hadn't sent the necklace? She thought back to the note that had come with it and realized with horror that it had been left unsigned.

Draco remembered the note he'd written that had disappeared from his trash can, was it possible that she had been sent that too? Hermione cut into his thoughts-

"…I didn't steal any necklace Malfoy. I swear. Did you really think I would?" she looked at him earnestly.

He looked away, "I didn't know what else to think. I was feeling…stressed," he sighed, "Look I'm sorry for saying all of those things, I don't know why it made me so upset." He frowned because actually he did know. He just couldn't tell her. Not yet.

"Umm, it's alright," she tucked her hair behind her ears, "Let's just forget about it," she smiled. She got up and quickly walked over to the sink so he couldn't see her. She felt like she was going to cry.

So Malfoy hadn't sent her the necklace. He hadn't sent her the note or written any of those things. He was completely innocent. That should make her happy, shouldn't it?

Her mind was swimming and she accidentally knocked over all of the cups and soap on the counter, "Oh shit!" she exclaimed.

"Hermione!" Goosebumps erupted on her skin, "Are you OK?"

She turned around and plastered a smile on her face, "Yes. I'm fine. Perfectly fine," she walked back towards the bathtub, "So. If you didn't send me the necklace then who did? And who stole it from your room?"

His mind was blank, "I've no idea."

"And why would they go to all this trouble to do it?"

The question hung in the air like an arrow about to hit its mark. Hermione just looked at him; she didn't know what else to do. And then she found she couldn't tear herself away. His grey eyes had just the tiniest bit of blue in them, she noticed, but they were clouded and stormy, like he was hiding a secret and didn't know if he should share it. Oh God, she thought severing the connection. She needed to get out of this, before she was in over her head.

Draco took a deep breath, "Something happened to me Hermione-"

"Yes to you meaning that I am not involved."

"It's not that simple-"

"BUT IT IS! I DON"T WANT TO BE INVOLVED!"

His reserve cracked, "AND WHY NOT? AM I NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?"

Hermione shook her head; feeling helpless, "Malfoy I just don't understand! And it's unfair that I should have to! This is not my problem; whatever happened to you is not my fault!" She reached out and squeezed his hand, "Whatever you're looking for I'm not it."

"No," he disagreed, "That's not true," he held onto her other hand, "I wrote you a note to go with that necklace…did you get it?"

Hermione tried to make her face a mask; she tried to hide her glee. So he had written the note! But if she said yes he'd know. He'd know how much it got to her. How much she liked it. She settled on making an odd coughing noise and seeing how he'd interpret it,

"Is that a yes or a no?"

Damn.

"Because if not I can recite it for you know I-"

"YES! YES I GOT YOUR BLOODY NOTE!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

And then-Oh no. She was staring at him. Again. This was so not good.

"And that's why you thanked me last night?" he asked.

She nodded.

He broke into a smile, "You seemed very grateful when you were thanking me-"

She narrowed her eyes, "Yes well it was a nice note,"

He inched closer, "How nice?"

She moved farther away, "A just friendly nice."

"Hmm," he looked displeased. He needed to loosen her up. But what…aha! He had the perfect plan.

Malfoy started massaging her wrists with his thumb in just the right spot. She felt her muscles slacken, felt her knees grow weak, and before she knew it she was kneeling beside the bathtub.

"Malfoy what are you doing?" she asked softly.

His tone was dangerous, "Helping you relax." He watched her eyes flutter closed and his smile widened. She was like putty in his hands; he knew all of her secrets. How she liked to be touched, where she liked to be touched, how she liked to be kissed…going to the future had given him a serious advantage in wooing her now.

"Look at me," he whispered and she opened her eyes. "I meant what I wrote," his lips grazed her right ear, "You are beautiful."

Hermione felt fireworks explode behind her eyes; this was what she had always wanted. Romance. It felt so good to have a boy tell her she was beautiful…while kneeling on a cold stone floor, soaking wet, and having just saved said boy's life after he had vomited on her floor.

OK, so maybe it wasn't that romantic, but it was as close as she'd ever been!

"Talk to me," he said huskily.

She suddenly felt young and inexperienced, "I-I don't know what to say,"

"You don't have to say anything," he nuzzled her ear. Oh God she felt her body hum. She was feeling tingly in all sorts of private places. She had to get out of here!

Hermione pulled away and found herself lost in his eyes for the third time. She sighed, "I'm seeing stars Draco and they're lovely," her eyes glistened, "But I also know that you can't touch the stars without getting burnt."

Draco felt her release his hands

"Especially the ones that light up all at once," she got up and straightened her bathrobe.

"Hermione-please, you've got to trust me. Just try to trust me!"

She started moving towards the door

"HERMIONE!" he cried, "WAIT! I MEANT WHAT I WROTE! ...I meant what I wrote…"

She turned to face him just as the sun rose over the Forbidden Forest. The morning light illuminated her visage; accenting her features and casting an unearthly glow over her skin. She appeared fittingly angelic and bewitchingly serene,

"I know. Now just give me a chance to believe it."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Bad Hair Day

Hermione dressed with trembling fingers; hardly comprehending what had just come to pass. She must be clinically insane.

Why else would she agree to try to trust Draco Malfoy?

Yes, clinical insanity was the only reasonable explanation.

She examined her reflection as she pulled on her cloak and frowned. Why did he have to be Head Boy? She wowed while trying to smooth down her hair which, of course, would not cooperate. And why the bloody hell couldn't she have agreeable hair? She fumed; unable to stop fiddling with it. She couldn't deal with this alone! She pulled and primped and tugged and battled with her untamable mane, but all it did was make her more annoyed.

"I NEED SOME HELP!" she finally burst; turning away from the mirror in disgust. Besides, just who was she trying to look good for anyway?

"Hermione!" Malfoy called from the Common Room. Oh God. She felt her heart clench in dread as she walked to the door and poked her head out; must her ability to trust him be tested so early?

"Yes?"

"Sorry to bother you," he came closer, only serving to make her more aware of her hair disaster, "But where did you put my shirt after you…uh…took it off last night?"

She tried, honestly she did. But try as she might Hermione could not refrain from giving into the temptation to roll her eyes and sigh exasperatedly. This was just so typical.

"Is this your idea of thanking me for saving your life last night Malfoy?"

He grinned, "Yes, you just didn't give me a chance to get to the thanking bit yet, it was going to come right after I reminded you about seeing me shirtless last night."

Her mouth hung open in shock. That actually sounded like…the truth.

"I hope your mouth is hanging open in awe of my attractiveness,"

She snapped back to attention, "No, in awe of your honesty,"

His look became serious, "You see, I'll make a believer of you yet Hermione Granger."

She shook her head playfully and laughed, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch Malfoy; now I'm off to breakfast. Oh, and if you plan on rearranging any more seating charts in our lessons today I highly suggest that you check with the professors first."

Now it was Draco's turn to roll his eyes, "Thanks Hermione," he smiled, "See you later,"

She was grinning uncontrollably as she headed out of the Common Room and she didn't know why. That wasn't so bad she mused, pausing absentmindedly in the doorway. She looked back towards their living quarters and saw him organizing his school things. He's quite methodical and neat for such a big headed prat she noted thoughtfully. He dropped a book suddenly and she had to cover her mouth to stop from laughing, and clumsy to boot! She delighted…

It was so unnerving seeing this other side of Draco Malfoy; this vulnerable and honest side…What had he said earlier? He'd make a believer of her yet? Hermione bit her lip in worry, "I'm afraid that you just might," she whispered, almost inaudibly, before slipping out the door.

Draco collapsed onto the couch after she left feeling more satisfied than he had in a long time. Hermione had been watching him. Secretly watching him. And even better, the whole time she was watching him she hadn't looked annoyed, angry, disgusted, or even exasperated.

No, the emotion he had seen on her face made him feel almost more hopeful than he dared;

Fear.

He had seen fear on Hermione Granger's face; the very same emotion that had coursed through his veins all those weeks ago when he first started to fall for her.

Draco reached into his pocket and fingered her necklace that he had been keeping since she threw it at him. Oh yes, he definitely planned on rearranging some seating charts today. Heck, he'd even take her advice and ask permission.

Hermione made it to the Great Hall and had been sitting at breakfast for almost twenty-three excruciating minutes. She had that terrible anxious feeling making her stomach seem unbearably tight and her nerves were beginning to wear on her friends. And on everything else around her.

"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed after she spilled her third glass of pumpkin juice, "What's going on with you?"

She tried to control her shaking hands as she flicked her wand again cleaning the mess. She fixed a wobbly smile on her face, "I'm just a little tired this morning Harry, that's all. No worries," she decided that she wasn't going to recount her dilemmas with Malfoy to Harry and Ron. They were private dilemmas, not to mention embarrassing dilemmas, and she was capable of keeping things hidden if need be.

"What's the Mal-Ferret done to you now?" Ron managed through a mouthful of sausage.

Damn, she cursed silently, was she that transparent? "Malfoy?" she questioned, doing her best to sound innocent, "Why would this have anything to do with Malfoy?"

Harry and Ron looked at each other incredulously and Hermione felt beads of perspiration form on her hairline. It wasn't unusual for her to have troubles with Malfoy! She wanted to scream. It wasn't like she was friends with him or anything! They were worst enemies! And worst enemies always ended up running into each other and making things horrible!

That's when Ron and Harry started laughing uproariously. Hermione felt monstrously relieved.

"Hermione are you kidding?" Harry laughed clutching his sides, "How could this not have anything to do with Malfoy?"

Her expression darkened, "It's not like I'm with him all the time or anything!" she imploded, "We just happen to live together and that's not my fault!"

Both Harry and Ron looked surprised, "Hermione," Ron began, "We're sorry, we didn't mean to offend you or anything-"

"Yeah well, you did! Suggesting that I'm in cohorts with him or something,"

Harry's expression was quizzical, "We didn't do anything of the sort, we just know that he's usually the cause of all your bad moods."

Hermione smashed down her utensils silencing the entire Gryffindor table; she was livid. The silence trickled through the entire Hall as she stood up unsettlingly slowly and towered above him,

"Well," her tone was sickly sweet, reminding him hauntingly of Umbridge, "It seems that the famous Harry Potter is finally mistaken about something, because today, the cause of my 'bad mood,' is not Malfoy. It's YOU."

She turned on her heel and stalked out of the Great Hall leaving all of her fellow students in complete shock. All but one, who felt that she knew distinctly just what was bothering Hermione Granger, and bravely followed her friend.

The confrontation quickly became that morning's juicy gossip and by the time that Draco entered five minutes later and sat down with his Slytherin house mates, it was all anybody was talking about.

"Yeah she completely told off Potter in front of everyone!" exclaimed Blaise Zabini gesticulating wildly, "Said that he was the cause of all her problems!" He noticed Draco beside him, "Draco!" he slapped him on the back, "My man! Well done mate, whatever you did really riled Granger up. She's gone completely AWAL!"

Draco felt instantly alarmed, "Wait, I don't understand. What happened to Hermione?"

Zabini looked flabbergasted, "Whoa, since when have you and the bookworm been on a first name basis?"

Draco just shook his head, annoyed; he did not have time for this, "Blaise," he grabbed him roughly by the collar, "Just cut the crap and tell me what happened,"

Blaise pushed him off and narrowed his already slit-like eyes at him, "Chill Malfoy," he said warily. Blaise looked down at his plate and started moving his sausage around, "Her and Potter just had a row is all," he looked up and smirked evilly, "My guess is that…it's a lovers quarrel." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Draco felt his pulse heighten with intense rage; a lovers quarrel?! Were Hermione and Potter lovers? He'd always had his money on Hermione and the Weasel, but Potter. It was unthinkable.

"And now where is she?" he snarled, feeling insanely jealous,

Blaise inspected his nails, "Beats me," he shrugged, "She just stomped out of her. But that lanky redheaded friend of hers followed her out; I think she's the Weasel's younger sister. Real dog if you ask me,"

But Draco was already tearing out of the Hall and exiting the massive doors. Ginny, that was the Weasel's sister's name. Hermione had told him all about her in the future; they were good friends.

Draco had to find her.

Blaise watched his old friend go with a glint in his eye and a chip on his shoulder. Something bad was happening to Draco, and he was going to stop it.

Hermione had fled to the place that she felt sure would be deserted at this hour; the Astronomy Tower. She was completely out of breath as she climbed the last flight of stairs. Her lungs burned and her legs ached, but she could hear someone following her and she would not to be caught. "It's no use whoever you are!" she choked out, "I'm not going to tell you anything! I'm fine!"

But her pursuer climbed on, gaining ground, "Well I'm not going to stop following you until you answer some of my questions!" a girl responded fiercely, "What has he done to you?"

Shit, Hermione realized, It was Ginny. "Not listening!" she called back hysterically as she burst out of the tower door and onto the outdoor landing.

She took in the fresh, cold air in gasps; filling her lungs to capacity with each intoxicating breath. Then she drew her wand, "Colloportus!" she yelled, safely locking the door behind her and finally feeling calm.

She walked over to the railing and spread her arms out on the stone, resting her cheek against the rough surface and breathing heavily, her breath fogging in the chilly air.

Oh boy, just what was she doing? Besides making a supreme mess of things…her hair dropped irritatingly into her eyes and she tried to blow it away. But it was no use; her disastrous hair wasn't going anywhere. If only she could just get her blasted mop to cooperate it would all be so much easier she sighed; gazing out across the lake. It was impossibly still and reflected the solid grey sky above it, which had clouded over.

"Oh!" Hermione cried as something unexpectedly dropped out of her cloak pocket. She pulled some gloves onto her numbing hands and bent down to inspect the relinquished object.

It was a hair barrette, the barrette that her grandparents had given her for her last birthday more than a year ago. She had forgotten all about it…

Could it be? she wondered disbelievingly, picking it up gingerly and squinting at it, that this little hair clip was the solution to her bad hair day?

She stood, held the barrette in her mouth, scooped up her hair, and clipped it back. She smiled with glee, the clasp made her hair feel so bouncy and fluid and wonderful! She flicked it back twice, once with each hand, and pranced around the landing.

She breathed in deep and silently marveled at the world, it was amazing how one seemingly insignificant change could forever and significantly change everything, how a tiny tweak with something forgotten, like a hairclip, could be a solution.

She stopped moving and frowned pensively.

How instead of wishing her dilemma with Malfoy would go away, which was impossible, she really could change her attitude towards him and make things much more bearable.

"ALOHAMORA!" voices screamed behind her and she whipped around to see the door fly open. It was Ginny and Malfoy.

"Gin! Malfoy!" she smiled, "You found me!"

Ginny did not look amused, "Yes, after you so cleverly charmed the door into locking I ran back down the stairs and luckily ran into Malfoy here who was also searching for you. He also, luckily, had a wand on him. In conclusion, this is my second time climbing these bloody stairs this morning and I haven't even gone to my Astronomy class yet!"

Hermione's mouth twitched as she tried to suppress a grin, "I'm sorry Ginny, I just really needed some alone time."

"And now I need some explanations."

"Yes, as do I," Malfoy finally piped in.

"But first let's go inside," said Ginny rubbing her arms, "It's freezing out here."

Hermione shuffled in after the other two feeling unpleasantly like a naughty primary school student who was now going to have to face the headmaster. The three of them sat down on the stairs and Malfoy looked at her oddly, she raised her eyebrows,

"What?"

He stroked his chin, "You look different,"

Ginny's attention was immediately drawn to Hermione,

"Yes," she agreed, scrutinizing her, "It's your hair. Did you do something to it?"

Hermione twirled a lock around her finger, "I just used a barrette,"

"It looks very nice," Malfoy said in an unmistakably husky voice.

Ginny looked like she was about to explode, "Oh my!" she cooed, "This is just sooo romantic!"

"No!" Hermione stood up, "You've got it all wrong. This is not romantic. Malfoy and I have just decided to be friends,"

He looked stunned, "We have?"

She turned to him and nodded, "Of course we have," then she tried to say softly so Ginny couldn't hear, "I agreed to trust you last night didn't I?"

"Actually, you said I needed to give you a chance to trust me," he answered in a low voice.

Meanwhile Ginny was edging her way closer; desperate to catch every word.

"Same difference isn't it? Plus, I'm saying we're friends now so it's settled."

His head dropped, "So I guess it's true then…you did have a lovers quarrel with Potter."

"WHAT!?" both Hermione and Ginny roared; openmouthed.

"This morning you had a row with him at breakfast, it's all anybody was talking about,"

Hermione's cheeks were scarlet, "Harry is not my lover," she sputtered, "And we did have a row…but it was about you!"

Draco leapt up and flashed her a devilishly handsome grin, "About me?"

"Yes," Hermione rolled her eyes and sat down looking heated, "He said that you were the reason for all of my bad moods."

"Well it is true isn't it?" Ginny chimed in defensively.

Hermione glared at her, "No. Contrary to popular belief my mood is not determined by nor does it depend on Draco Malfoy."

Draco snorted, "Oh dream on Hermione, of course I'm the dependent variable of your daily emotions," he sat down very closely beside her and she smacked him on the arm.

"But oh," she dropped her head in her hands, "I just feel so awful about shouting at Harry. He didn't deserve it."

"You were feeling guilty," Ginny said wisely, "And you took it out on him. Don't sweat it though; it happens to the best of us,"

Draco looked puzzled, "Guilty?"

Hermione shot up, what had Ginny done? "Would you look at the time?" she said loudly, "We had better be getting to lessons!"

He scratched his head, "Guilty?"

Ginny stood up too, "By Jove you're right Hermione, and we need to get moving straight away, c'mon Malfoy. Head Boy and Girl can't afford to be late!"

He looked at Hermione fervently, "Why would you feel guilty?"

Hermione looked at Ginny desperately and started to quickly descend the stairs, Ginny followed suit,

"What's that Malfoy?" Hermione called up, "I can't hear you!"

"Hurry up Malfoy! We don't want detention!"

He picked up his book bag and started racing down after them, "I asked you why you would feel guilty!"

"God the echoes in here are just atrocious," answered Hermione, "I can't seem to make out a thing you're saying!"

He moved faster, spiraling downwards, he was only one flight behind them now, "Don't you play dumb with me Hermione Granger!"

"What?" yelled Ginny, "Of course we don't think you're a stranger!"

"Argh!" he growled in frustration, taking the stairs two at a time,

"Ginny!" Hermione squealed to her friend, "He's gaining on us!"

"RUN!" Ginny yelled as they both started sprinting down the stairs.

But it was no use, because two flights later the much taller and much faster Draco Malfoy had caught up. He grabbed Hermione and pinned her to a wall, Ginny stopped and cried out in shock,

"Let her go!"

Hermione squirmed relentlessly under his grasp, but he was too strong, "Granger," he growled, "Tell me why you would feel guilty, before I have to start feeling guilty about doing something else."

Hermione gulped, "Ginny go! I can handle this!"

"Yes Ginny," Malfoy nodded still staring at Hermione, "Leave. This is between me and Hermione."

But Ginny stood her ground.

"Go!" Hermione pleaded hoarsely, "You have potions first, you can't be late!"

"But Hermione it's my fault, I shouldn't have said anything about-"

"Ginny! I forgive you! Now GO!"

Resentfully she hoisted her bag up on her shoulder and trotted the rest of the stairs down the tower. The other two didn't move until they heard the door shut behind Ginny at the bottom.

Draco had her hands held against the wall by her wrists and it was beginning to hurt, "Malfoy if you would so kindly release me, we are friends now you know,"

"Not until you tell me what I want to know."

"What does it even matter why I fought with Harry-"

"Why are you feeling guilty?"

She sighed feeling crestfallen and took a breath. She was going to have to come clean to him sometime, "Because agreeing to trust you makes me feel like a traitor alright? I feel like Harry and Ron and, hell, my whole bloody house will think I've betrayed them."

Draco looked hurt; he released her and sank down onto the steps. They were silent for a few moments and Hermione began pacing,

"I'm sorry Malfoy," she whined, "See this is why I didn't want to tell you before."

He stared up at her, "And yet you're still going to be my friend? Even though it makes you feel guilty?"

She looked away, "…Yes," she answered softly.

"Why?" he breathed.

She looked out of the narrow window in the wall, the cold breeze swaying her hair, "Because I've learned that even the smallest change can be the simple solution to a problem. I don't want to have problems with you Malfoy I just want to get along, besides there's already enough bickering in the World without our contribution."

He smiled, "So we're friends then?"

She nodded and smacked her lips together, "Yep. We're friends."

Malfoy got a naughty gleam in his eye, "I feel like we need to do this properly, you know seal the deal somehow."

"Well," said Hermione clapping her hands together, "What do you suggest?"

He paused and pulled a thoughtful expression,

"Seal it with a kiss,"

Hermione looked severely startled, but he continued on suavely, "I believe it can also be referred to as paying a tax,"

"Uh-I", she was blushing and stammering furiously, "I-uh I def-definitely do not think that-err-that is a good idea nor-erm-would it be-ahm-uh appropriate under any uh circumstances-"

"Oh come on!" he boomed jovially standing up, "What's the odd kiss between two good friends?"

Hermione stared at him nonplussed. Would she really dare? His grey-blue eyes seemed to light up, did other girl and boy friends really exchange kisses?

Oh she felt so unsure, and he was ever moving forebodingly forward,

"Do you promise it's just a one time uh tax?" she whispered shakily as he slid his arms around her waist, "Just to um…seal the deal?"

"Hermione," his voice sounded all around her. His hands were in her hair, running unnervingly up and down her back, his body was pressed up impossibly close to hers, and his eyes were all she could see. She couldn't fight it if she'd tried,

"You could never expect me to promise such a thing,"

His lips softly met hers and she felt her eyes flutter closed and her body become languid. The kiss was teasingly slow and gentle and she felt herself grow hungry for more. His lips seemed to be telling her the most delicious and tantalizing secrets that she devoured and filled herself up with until she was glowing like a light bulb.

The sockets connected and sparked, the chorus sang in perfect tune, the bells rang out in melodic harmony; she had never been kissed like this before.

And then it was over, just as quickly as it began. She opened her eyes and prayed that her trembling legs wouldn't let her fall.

Draco was grinning from ear to ear, "Well," he said breathily, "I think it really is high time that we got to class now that we've made it official friend." He shouldered his bag and started plodding down the stairs, "Oh," he turned around, "And I also think that it's time you started calling me Draco."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Prophecy

Oh my God, oh my God, OH MY GOD! Hermione took in shallow breaths as she made her way down the staircase towards Herbology, how could she have let this happen? How could she have kissed DRACO MALFOY?!

THWAP.

She tripped down the last couple of steps and landed flat on her stomach. "Shit," she moaned, "Just shit." She rolled over, arching her back and extending her arms, then relaxing. "Nobody will ever believe this," she sighed, seriously contemplating the merits of lying on the dusty ground all day long.

There was no use ignoring the fact anymore, Draco Malfoy had changed. And whether the change was for the better, she still wasn't quite sure. The Malfoy she knew was conceited, spoiled, cruel, stupid, annoying, belligerent, insulting…oh how the list went on.

The things he was not were apologetic or caring or charming or…or most certainly not wanting to kiss her.

What on planet Earth could have sparked such an alarming turnaround in such a characteristically unpleasant boy? And, especially, why did said turnaround have to involve her so…inescapably?

Hermione sat up and leaned back on her hands. She was in too deep now; she would have to find out. She would solve the mystery of what happened to Draco Malfoy.

Although, in the meantime she planned on ignoring him heartily during lessons and annoying him by any means necessary while in the Common Room. He did, after all, take advantage of her when she was in a most vulnerable position and…well…she was down right pissed off!

The familiar ring sounded bringing along with it her irritatingly keen sense of responsibility. She had already missed one class today, she could not miss two!

So, Hermione hopped up, not even caring to make herself presentable, and sprinted towards the Greenhouses for Herbology.

It was only after she entered Greenhouse number four that she realized just who was in this class with her. The three people that she most desperately did not want around each other at the same time.

"Hermione!" Ron waved, "Over here! We saved you a seat!"

She smiled, walking quickly over to their table while trying to inconspicuously scan the room. Phew, no sign of him yet.

"Hi guys," she sat down and pulled out her notebooks only to find Ron looking at her pointedly. What was he doing? Oh. It was just then that she noticed Harry sitting beside him and looking extremely sour. After the morning's other err…events she had completely forgotten about their argument. "Harry," she reached for his arm and was glad when he didn't shrink away, "Can you ever forgive me for acting like a total idiot?"

He rolled his eyes, "More like a complete psycho case,"

She cringed, "Alright then, can you ever forgive me for acting like a complete psycho case?"

He grabbed for her hand, "Just as long as it doesn't happen again," she laughed and nodded, "AND," he added forcefully, "Let's promise not to talk about Malfoy any more. OK?"

Hermione almost yelped for joy, she could not have planned it better herself. "Harry," she beamed, "I could not think of anything else I would much rather promise. No more!"

"Here, here!" Ron joined and they all laughed, Hermione supremely enjoying their familiar company and natures. She was so glad they were her best friends. It was all one really needed in life, friendship and laughter…wait! Did someone just walk in the door-

False alarm. It was only professor Sprout. That was a close one.

"Hermione?"

"What?" She turned back to her friends to find them looking at her expectantly. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you I was…" Harry was already starting to look suspicious, "I was just thinking about how glad I was to have you as friends!" They smiled back at her.

Hey, it was the truth! Just not all of it.

She felt her smile begin to fade sitting there and watching Harry and Ron talk. Hiding this was beginning to exhaust her. She didn't know how long she could keep it up, like if he had walked in the door just now she probably would have cracked or blown her cover or messed up something. She smiled at her friends again and felt her heart ache, oh God please don't let me have to choose between them she begged silently.

But Hermione was lucky that day, because Draco didn't show up to Herbology. In fact, he didn't show up to any of his lessons.

And while this should have made Hermione extremely happy, it only served to make her so paranoid about running in to him that by the time she reached the common room she could barely stop her knees from knocking together.

Because not knowing what would happen was killing her. What would he do? What would he say? What was waiting for her on the other side of this picture?

This was ridiculous, she finally decided. She couldn't face him in this state! She was so tightly wound she'd probably hex him by accident if he made any sudden movements, which wouldn't be too upsetting aside from the fact that she'd probably get sent to Azkaban for it. No, what she needed was to be cool, calm, and collected.

She needed to release some of her nervous energy.

Perhaps some erratic dancing would help unwind her knotted nerves? So, she put down her books and promptly started to flail and bounce about like some strung out club dancer. That's right just get it all out Hermione, get it all out. Wooo. She jabbed her right arm up to the right and down to the left in a disco motion Woohoo! Shake it! And for the grand finale she whipped out the air guitar Rock on! Excellent! Rock-

"Feeling a little stressed there Hermione?"

"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she flew so high up in the air that Draco was afraid he might have to catch her so she wouldn't hurt herself, "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

She could practically see the pleasure radiating off of him, catching her so off guard like this, "Just coming back to my bedroom before going to dinner is all. I hope that doesn't bother you…too much,"

"Of course not!" she quipped though she could still hear her voice shaking, "It's just, you weren't at any of your lessons today!"

He looked touched, "Aw you noticed. Did you miss me?"

"NO!" she cried, then pointed an accusing finger at him, "You snuck up on me!"

His lips curved upward in the most self-satisfied way, "Are you suggesting that I knew you would be in front of the common room doing to disco inferno?" He then did a mortifyingly accurate impression of her dancing.

Oh what fresh hell? Was it too much to ask for the floor to open up and swallow her whole?

Then he started laughing.

"Stop it!" she raged, "I order you to stop it this instant!"

"Relax Hermione! I'm only laughing and that's what friends do together, they laugh. You know ha ha ha."

"Yes well friends laugh with each other not at each other Malfoy," she sniffed.

"Draco."

"What?" she gave him a puzzled look.

"I asked you to call me Draco remember? After the…tax?"

She turned away, "Oh right. Draco." She'd just choose to ignore that last comment.

"So are you going to open the door Draco or shall I?"

He smiled and motioned to the door, "Be my guest Hermione,"

She said the password and couldn't help smiling back, so this was what being on civil terms with Malfoy felt like. Who would ever have believed it?

Hermione could not remember ever having more fun while doing her homework. It was so wonderful not to have to constantly be on edge waiting for the next attack or to hold her tongue while he made some senseless, prejudice comment. It was almost like…hanging out with Harry and Ron.

She sat on the floor with her work spread on the coffee table in front of a roaring fire. She didn't go to dinner because Draco had fixed them both grilled cheeses and she was just finishing hers off. She had to admit it was delicious, not to mention her favourite.

He lay down on the couch behind her, "So, is that the best grilled cheese you've ever eaten or what?"

She laughed, "I admit it is delicious," she took another bite, "Did you know it's my favourite?"

He put on a surprised look, Yes he did, "Is it? What a coincidence."

She nodded, "Yeah I know," she took another bite, "So where were you today? Out torturing poor little first years?"

"Har dee har har Hermione, but no. I'm not Weasley. Ow!" she had punched him in the arm, "Watch it!"

She turned to face him, "No, you watch it."

He laughed and raised his hands in defeat, "Alright, alright, no bad comments about the gruesome twosome, I've got it." She rolled her eyes, but he noticed it was only half heartedly. "So today," he stretched out on his back, "I was granted permission to stay here and catch up on all the work I missed since I was away for so long." He looked at her, "Big mystery wasn't it?"

But Hermione was deep in thought. This was her perfect opportunity to learn just where Malfoy had been for the past month. "I know an even bigger one. Where did you go Draco? Where were you for all this time?"

He shifted his gaze to the ceiling and sighed. So there it was. Out loud. She had finally asked him. Now what was he supposed to say?

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

She moved his feet and sat down on the couch facing him, "Try me."

He sat up and faced her, "If I told you I'd have to kill you."

"I'm being serious Draco."

"So am I."

She stood up in frustration, "God you're so insufferable! I thought we were friends. Now you can't even tell me one little thing?"

He looked at her intently, "It's not one little thing Hermione. It's one rather large thing."

"Well can you at least answer this? Wherever you went, is that the reason you've been acting so different?"

He lay back down on the couch feeling the conversation begin to spin out of control. He didn't want to tell her, not right now, not like this. Not when they had gotten so far, if he told her now it would all be ruined.

"Well?" she said impatiently.

"…Yes."

She seemed to absorb the information for a moment, "Was my necklace a portkey? Because I can't understand how it could have transported you wherever you went."

He sat up, not really considering this before. "I never really thought about that, but I don't think a portkey could have transported me where I went." But someone planted that necklace on her, he realized, someone must've known what it did. He stood up and started pacing.

"What is it?" she asked.

Dumbledore had said that it was unorthodox, even for his taste. That "they" had decided it was necessary. "You said your grandparents gave you that necklace?"

She nodded, "Yes,"

"Do they know Dumbledore?"

"No, they're muggles. But what has that got to do with anything?"

This whole thing, he finally realized, was all a plan. Someone had wanted him to go to the future where they knew he would fall in love with Hermione and where they knew he would come back and make her fall in love with him. But Hermione's grandparents? And why?

"Are you absolutely sure that you're grandparents don't know Dumbledore or any other member of the magical community?"

"Well…no, but I just can't see how they would. They don't know anything about our World."

"Right. I've got to see Dumbledore," there was a determined look in his eyes. Something was going on that he didn't know about and he was going to find out just what that was.

"Well I'm coming with you," he looked back at her and saw the same determination reflecting back at him through her eyes. His palms sweat just hearing her say those words, that she wanted to come with him, be the same place that he was, go where he was going. She looked so lovely by the glow of the fire.

"Hermione I don't think you should-"

"After all I've learned so far this involves me. It was my necklace after all, I have a right to know. I'm coming with you."

"OK, I'll bring you with me, but I can't promise you that Dumbledore will let you stay."

"Fine, but I'm coming now. Let's go."

As they ran through the halls Hermione was reminded of her numerous late night adventures with Harry and Ron. The secret of where Draco had gone, why her necklace had transported him, it was all so puzzling. Like, where could the necklace possibly have taken him that a portkey couldn't reach? The moon? Another planet? Another Universe? The only thing that she knew it couldn't do was-

"Draco!" she whispered urgently lighting her wand with his, "My necklace, it didn't transport you to a different place did it? It took you to a different time! You traveled through time!"

Draco kept staring ahead; they were almost at Dumbledore's office. A few more steps and he would see the silhouette of the gargoyle in the distance,

"Draco!" she hissed, "I'm right aren't I?"

They were in front of the gargoyle, he muttered the password.

"What year did you go to?"

They stepped onto the stairs and started rising upwards.

"Draco!"

"Shh!"

They rode in silence until they were standing right in front of the office doors. He grabbed her shoulders and wheeled her around to face him.

He leaned in very close to her left ear, soaking in her heavenly scent, "You're right," he whispered sending shivers down her spine, "I did travel through time. I went to the future."

Then the doors opened drenching Hermione in pale light, only serving to make her feel more like a deer caught in the headlights. The future that's where he had gone. The future. And she was involved…The future…And she was involved…

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger. To what do I owe the impromptu pleasure of your company?"

Draco stepped forward, "Professor I was just thinking over some things about recent events when a very troubling thought occurred to me. Miss Granger insisted she come along, but I don't know if her presence would be…such a good idea at this time."

Dumbledore observed Hermione, who still appeared very dazed, over his half-moon spectacles and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Miss Granger would you like to sit down?" Hermione nodded, "Please," he motioned to a chair. "And Mr. Malfoy you too."

They both sat down across from Dumbledore's desk while he seated himself behind it. "Well Draco I think it would be very rude to ask Miss Granger to leave now, so why don't you just tell me what's troubling you."

"Sir, should we explain to Hermione first?"

"If she has any questions I'm sure she'll ask."

Draco looked at her uncertainly, "Well, alright." He cleared his throat, "Hermione was wondering if her necklace had been a portkey sir, since it had transported me and all, and I realized that I'd never thought about that before. It made me think that someone had to have bewitched her necklace and planned for this whole thing to happen. And then I remembered that you'd said it yourself, 'it was unorthodox even for your taste,' you said. What I'm trying to figure out sir is who did this and why. Surely not Hermione's grandparents? She told me they're muggles."

He stared at them both thoughtfully, "Miss Granger had to get her magic from someone didn't she? Plus, we magical folk aren't above reaching out to our fellow man, magical or not, for help when the time calls for it."

"But Professor," Draco cried standing up, "What does that mean?!"

"It means Draco," he answered calmly, "That certain arrangements had to be made."

"Sir," Hermione spoke surprising them, Draco had almost forgotten she'd been in the room. "Did you know my grandparents?"

"Yes Miss Granger, I met them when I was asked to contact them last September," her eyes widened in recognition, "Yes Miss Granger right before your birthday. I was asked to make one minor adjustment to your birthday present, which ended up taking quite a long time."

Hermione's mind was spinning the future…her necklace…involved…minor adjustment…involved…her necklace…

"So was this all planned then?" Malfoy demanded angrily, "Even our positions as Head Boy and Girl? Was it all just one big set up?"

"No," Dumbledore boomed, sounding insulted, "I never appoint positions unless the recipients fully deserve them."

Draco looked sheepish, "Sorry Professor."

He waved it away, "I made sure things were taken care of as conservatively as I could. That necklace wasn't even supposed to do anything unless it was absolutely necessary. Obviously it was. Mr. Malfoy was simply a ghastly character before he was spirited away, wouldn't you agree Miss Granger?"

But Hermione didn't seem to notice she was being spoken to. Draco looked at her with concern.

"Miss Granger?"

"Hermione?"

But she was lost in thought. Draco had been sent to the future…her grandparents had been contacted…it had been planned…she was involved…he came back changed…

"Professor Dumbledore who asked you to contact my grandparents?"

Dumbledore sat back in his chair and smiled, "Ah what a bright girl you are Miss Granger, always asking the right things. To answer your question, the Head of the Department of Mysteries asked me to contact your grandparents."

She felt her heart sink. The Department of Mysteries. They Department of Mysteries had asked Dumbledore to bewitch her necklace so that Draco would go to the future and come back changed and she was involved. Why her necklace? She looked at Draco…she remembered all the things he'd been saying to her…

"Wh-why my necklace?" she asked softly, fearing the worst.

Dumbledore eyed Draco who was busy staring at the floor, "Did Mr. Malfoy not tell you who he ran into in the future?"

"No," she answered almost inaudibly, "He didn't want to talk about it."

"Oh my…" Dumbledore stood up, "This has become very complicated." He folded his hands together. "Well I'll just tell you what I know and let Mr. Malfoy fill in the holes for you shall I?

"The Department of Mysteries is infamous for very many things, but one of the most intriguing of all is its Hall of Prophecies." Both Draco and Hermione looked up at him in disbelief, it couldn't be, "As you both know there was a very famous prophecy about a certain boy who lived and who would live to defeat the dark lord. Well new prophecies have been made and new dark lords have been predicted, along with new saviors." He fixed them both with his most piercing stare, "And after the overwhelming success of the last prophecy the Unspeakables are taking these new prophecies much more seriously. Especially the most recent one detailing the birth of the Wizarding World's latest hero. Would you like me to read it to you?"

Draco looked at Hermione, but she was staring determinedly ahead. He nodded at the Headmaster.

Dumbledore began,

"A love born out of hate most strong

To one of brains the other brawn

Two prisoners of their own flesh

A bond no one on Earth would guess

Two opposites in constant strife

A tie so strong that no one's knife

Could bring them down; a child is born!

Into said s'pposed world of scorn

Unto this world that it shall save

That is of course, if they've forgave."

Dumbledore's last line echoed in the hollow silence of his office. Draco didn't know what to do, should he comfort Hermione? He also couldn't help wondering, was it Elsie or David? This chosen one?

"Of course you both know my opinion of prophecies, one I'm sure that Miss Granger shares with me."

Hermione looked up at him with shining eyes, "S-so you don't believe it professor?" she choked out, "You don't think it's true?"

"Miss Granger I don't know whether it is true or not, I too cannot see the future. But what I do know is that it isn't logical to live one's life according to a prophecy. It eliminates all passion and free will; all spontaneity."

He turned to Draco, "What I also know is that Mr. Malfoy did travel to the future and what he found there was not some fulfilled prophecy or international hero, but something real." Draco looked up at him, "Something that means very much to him."

Hermione felt her muscles sag with weight; this was all too much to handle. The Department of Mysteries, out to interfere with her future.

"Now you two look exhausted, why don't you go back to your common room and get some rest. It's the weekend tomorrow so you can sleep in." They both got up and moved towards the door, "Oh and Miss Granger," Hermione turned around, "Remember what I said. Don't let some silly prophecy run your life." She nodded and waved goodbye.

Riding the descending stairs with Draco she resolved to do just that. This prophecy would never be fulfilled, no matter what she had to do. She would stop Draco…no Malfoy from feeling whatever freaky emotion he did for her, which should be easy enough, and she would put an end to all of this.

She was not going to be any Unspeakables experiment; she would not go through with this prophecy.

She would never fall in love with Draco Malfoy.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Romance Novels and Feminine Products

Ah a new morning, a new day, a fresh start.

Not.

What's a girl to do when she learns that her grandparents are plotting behind her back, there is a prophecy made about her producing an heir with her worst enemy, and that a group of terrifyingly powerful witches and wizards are out to control her future?

Sit in her comfy bed with a romance novel while eating chocolates, that's what.

"Mmmm," she moaned as the delicious truffle slid down her throat and the heroine's love interest just entered the room shirtless.

She snorted in disgust, "Bollocks," she spat at the pages, "Complete and utter bollocks." This scene was then followed by obscene amounts of chest heaving on the heroine's part and a lot of double entendres on the male's. She had to roll her eyes; that would so never happen in the real world; these books seriously tested her gag reflex.

Because you see, she was only reading romance novels in order to look for ways in which to instantly repel one certain, disillusioned male in the other room. She'd devised to read this book and just do the exact opposite of what the heroine did in every situation.

For instance, she would not partake in obscene amounts of chest heaving around him. No, in direct contrast she would try to look like she was barely breathing at all times, that would surely turn him off.

Hermione stood in front of her mirror and practiced her new technique. Perfect, she smiled, I looked pale and semi-constipated. Not attractive whatsoever.

Another thing she planned on doing, that most girls simply forbid themselves to do in front of boys, was to just be herself.

And she meant completely.

Those ridiculous pajamas? No longer would they remain hidden under a robe, oh no, she planned on wearing them whenever she was in the common room. Pretending that she didn't have a secret addiction to these chocolates? No more. She would pop one in her mouth whenever he was looking.

No longer would she resist the urge to burp, scratch, sing, dance, joke, laugh, cry, whine, bitch, moan, freak out, or be dramatic. She was a hormonal girl godammnit and Draco Malfoy was going to know it.

Starting now, she decided, rolling onto her stomach to check her clock.

Hermione's face was graced with the most triumphant of smiles, "7:45 a.m. What a delightful hour for a little bit of music."

She put her hair in a ratty bun, adjusted her pajamas, plopped a Hilary Duff CD in her machine and gathered that, her chocolates, and three boxes of tampons before making her way to the bathroom.

She threw everything down with a crash on the counter and magicked on the portable stereo.

"LET THE RAIN FALL DOWN AND WAKE MY DREAMS

LET IT WASH AWAY MY SANITY

CAUSH I WANNA FEEL THE THUNDER I WANNA SCREAM

LET THE RAIN FALL DOWN

I'M COMING CLEAN!"

She sang as loudly as humanly possible while ripping open boxes of tampons and scattering them all around the toilet,

"LET THE RAIN FALL!" she screamed, "LET THE RAIN FALL!"

Then she ran back to her room returning with a whole slew of girly toiletries. Body mists, body lotions, exfoliating beads, Midol, pumice stones, nail varnish, hairspray…

"TRYING TO FIT A SQUARE INTO A CIRCLE WAS YOUR LIIIIIFE!"

How the bloody hell was the varmint not awake yet?

"I'M SHEDDING! SHEDDING EVERY COLOUR!

TRYING TO FIND A PIGMENT OF TRUTH BENEATH MY SKIIIIIN!"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON OUT THERE?"

She beamed. Aha, there was that sunny disposition she knew so well.

"LET THE RAIN FALL!" she continued to bellow, "LET THE RAIN FALL DOWN!"

She heard him stomping around in the common room. Oh, he was so ticked off. And she was loving it.

"HERMIONE JANE GRANGER!" he roared, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE-"

But upon entering the bathroom he could no longer continue. Because there was his Hermione like he'd never witnessed her before.

She was dressed in revolting bunny pajamas, blathering on about the rain, and stuffing her face full of chocolates. He stepped forward to shake some sense into her when he heard something snap beneath his foot.

He bent down to pick it up and reeled back in disgust. Had he just touched a…a tampon?!

She was still going, "LET THE RAIN FALL DOWN AND WAKE MY DREAMS! LET IT WASH AWAY MY SANITY!"

Draco laughed, "NO DANGER THERE!" he yelled over the music, "APPARENTLY THAT WASHED AWAY AGES AGO!"

Hermione just kept smiling and singing like a loon. Ooo, and she mustn't forget to keep eating her chocolates.

"LET THE RAIN FALL!"

"HERMIONE ,"

"LET THE RAIN FALL!"

"HERMIONE!"

He flicked off the stereo. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" he glared at her.

She just kept smiling dreamily, "Oh you know, I just really fucking wanted to get all of my shit sorted in the bathroom before the sodding, horrid day began," she swallowed another chocolate.

Whoa! His eyebrows nearly shot up to his hairline, What was with the language?

He shook his head in disbelief, "Yes, well did you have to do it so fucking loudly?"

She picked her ear, "When the bloody hell else did you expect me to do it? There's no better time than the crack in the ass of dawn I always say,"

Malfoy broke down in laughter, "Hermione," he managed, "I think you mean ass crack-"

"That's what I fucking said!" She exclaimed, "Ass crack!"

He backed away in defense, "Alright, whatever you say,"

She sniffed haughtily, "Plus I thought hell, we're going to be getting very close according to this Prophecy, so why not let it all hang out?" She let the last three words drag out ominously.

Ohhhh Draco jolted, recognition hitting him. That's what this was all about. The Prophecy. She was just seriously freaked out about it.

Well, he smirked devilishly, if they were going to be getting very close,

He leaned in…

"BAHRR!" She had burped right into his mouth. He might vomit.

"Oops!" she giggled, "Excuse fucking me!"

He narrowed his eyes as she turned the music back on. Oh this was war.

Hermione looked over at Draco and stopped singing, "And what do you think you are doing!?"

He had stripped down to nothing but his boxers.

He looked at her innocently, his bangs softly framing his eyes, "Taking a shower," he turned on the water, "Do you mind?"

Oh God, her mind was hitting a dead end. Mayday, mayday, what would the romantic heroine do in this situation? She would probably leave because it was improper, but then again she might stay because that would be hot, so in contrast Hermione should stay because it would be improper or perhaps leave because that would be prude and annoying or – Or maybe, her eyes narrowed dangerously as he turned around to adjust the showerhead, just maybe…

"Not at all, Harry and Ron do it all the time,"

Draco nearly ripped the showerhead out of the wall in shock; managing to soak himself completely in the process.

Weasley and Potter! A beast in his chest burst wildly, Not on his watch!

"Those inexperienced prudes?" he ground out, "Please,"

"Suit yourself Draco," she brushed passed him, feeling a newfound confidence course through her, "Sometimes they would join me, but they didn't like it much."

His eyebrows rose. They joined her? "Oh? Why not?"

She pretended to feel embarrassed, "Oh Draco, I – I couldn't possibly…tell you."

He approached her hungrily, "Hermione," he said suavely, "We've been through this, you can trust me now. We're friends."

She let out a long dramatic sigh, "Well alright," She leaned forward confidentially, "They didn't like to shower with me because…because I don't shave my armpits!"

Draco leapt back and Hermione's eyes filled with mirth, her heart floating with glee,

Hahahaha! Yess! And three times YESSS! He was successfully disgusted!

"Unbelievable huh?!" she gushed, beaming madly.

Draco merely stood there in extreme alarm.

Uh oh, her smile faded. Was it possible she'd gone a little too far? Memories of the Prophecy flooded her brain, No. More like not far enough.

Still, she better make a quick exit, before she said anything else even more damaging,

"Well I'll leave you to your shower," she walked away, lingering at the door, "And Draco," she fluttered her eyelashes, "I'm so glad that we're friends now, and that I can share these things with you. I don't know what I'd do without you!"

She blew him a wet kiss and skipped out of the door, her stupid smile coming back at seeing his horrified face,

By the end of the week he'll be so sick of me he'll be begging Dumbledore to let him give up his Head Boy position! He won't know what hit him!

She squealed victoriously before running into her room and changing into her robes.

Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy was having a good chuckle of his own in the shower. (A/N: Ooer!)

So she was more than just seriously freaked out, he gathered that. She was so freaked out that she was willing to go to risk her reputation around him in order to prevent this Prophecy from happening.

Meaning that Hermione Granger was completely, catastrophically, category five hurricanely freaked out.

He lathered up his lean, smooth torso thoughtfully, And there's nowhere else I'd rather have her, he resolved. Because it was cute really, the way she was trying to turn him off. Because she didn't realize that it was impossible, that all of her attempts were in vain.

Because she didn't yet understand the true power of Draco Malfoy.

Hermione was still floating high on her cloud of success after changing and couldn't wait to go to breakfast with her fellow Gryffindors. She was positively itching to tell Ginny about annoying Draco and-

The bathroom door opened with a whoosh and time came to a standstill.

There was Malfoy; towel slung around his waist like some Roman Emperor, trailed by his court of delicious smelling clouds of hot, sweaty steam. His tight, slippery body shining with beads of water and his hair slightly mussed and silky.

Hermione had to bite her lip to keep from gasping. Boy oh boy was that man a sight for sore eyes, that body, and the way he kissed-

Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait wait, wait, wait, WAIT! What had she just been thinking? What was she doing standing her like a mesmerized loon? That bloody steam must be spiked with…something. Because thoughts like these, about him, were…

Unnatural.

And, quite rightly, Hermione Granger did not have such thoughts!

She took a deep breath and fixed him with her most venomous stare, "Did you know that there are thirty-seven different types of mold that grow within the human shower Malfoy?"

Draco flashed her his most devastating smile, coming closer, "Thirty-eight if you include yourself."

She felt the blood rush to her head, "Forty if I include you!" She raged, "Because you're so disgusting you count for two!" Yikes. Real nice Hermione.

He chuckled, "Ooo Hermione are you suggesting that you and I would be in the shower together?" She could honestly hit herself for falling into that trap, "Naughty girl."

"You know your innuendos are not attractive Malfoy," she hissed, scarlet-faced, "They're insulting."

"And your blatant honesty is cute."

"Ah!" she charged towards him, "You are such a self-obsessed prick! Why can't you just leave me the fuck alone!?"

"Now are these real curses?" he asked softly, "Or just another silly attempt to fight something you can't control?"

She slapped him. Hard. "Don't you dare talk about things you don't understand. You don't know me."

He held her gaze, "I know that you don't exfoliate or swear like a sailor," he panted, ignoring his stinging cheek.

"I exfoliate!" she fired back.

He simply stared at her, a smile tugging at his lips, "So maybe you do exfoliate-"

"And maybe I do swear like a sailor! You just don't know that because you don't know me!"

"Oh Hermione I know you better than you could ever imagine,"

"No you don't!" she cried, her bun coming loose, "Because if you did then you would know I really do sing loudly to Hilary Duff, and wear bunny pajamas, and like to eat chocolate! And I really am smart, and honest, and independent!"

He moved even closer, "I know," he breathed, "I know, I know all of this Hermione. I know you."

She shook her head fiercely, "No you don't! I don't remember you getting to know me! The only thing I remember is you insulting me! You never bothered to chat me up!"

He was inches away from her now, "I know that your favourite colour is red, that your favourite smell is lavender," she was still shaking her head, "That your favourite ice cream flavour is strawberry…and that your favourite boy's name is David."

She had stopped moving. She was afraid that even her heart had stopped beating. How did he know that?

"You see Hermione," he whispered, "I do know you."

She looked straight into his eyes, searching for an answer, "Who told you that?" Not even Harry or Ron knew all of those things.

He moved away and resumed his normal volume of voice, "You did."

"What?" she exclaimed, "Wait!" she caught up to him, "I told you all of this in the future? So you really went there? You met me there?" All of this was hitting her so fast,

He stopped and faced her, "Yes and yes." He turned around and went into his room.

Hermione tore after him, "But Draco, what was it like?! I mean, what was I like?"

He froze in the middle of unfolding his jeans. The he let his eyes wander scandalously over every little bit of her,

"Stimulatingly similar," he answered.

She crossed her arms over her chest self-consciously, "And…and was I still just as bossy and self-righteous?"

He pulled a pained expression, "Unbearably."

"Hey!" she exclaimed, picking up a pillow and chucking it at his head.

He caught it expertly and threw it back at her, "Well you didn't give me a chance to add 'Thankfully,'"

She also caught the pillow and cocked her head, "Thankfully?" she snorted, "You mean you actually enjoyed my nagging and Gryffindor goodness?"

He pulled on a shirt, "I think you'll find that I've become awfully fond of your irrepressible nature Hermione Granger."

She felt the temperature rise a couple of degrees, oh no, this was so not good. Why did this always happen?

She had to stop this, she needed more disgusting comments, "I really do belch loudly you know,"

He laughed, "Yes that I've just learned."

She threw up her hands in vexation, "God, doesn't that just repulse you Draco? Doesn't it want to make you get as far away from me as possible?"

He nodded vigorously, "Yes,"

Did she just feel her heart sink? Just the teeniest, tiniest bit?

"And no." He gazed longingly into her eyes, moving towards her, taking the temperature even higher.

Now what was she supposed to do? Nothing seemed to faze him, not the tampons, not the armpits, not even the oral gas. There was only one thing left to do,

Time to start operation no breathing.

She took in the tiniest amount of air humanly possible and was delighted when Malfoy began to look alarmed,

He grabbed her shoulders, "Hermione are you constipated?"

She released a wave of air in exasperation, "No you thick-headed ninny," she pushed his hands off, "I'm just abstaining from doing obscene amounts of chest heaving."

He laughed in disbelief before patting her shoulder, "That's alright; I was never a big fan of romance novels anyway."

She scooted away from him, "Neither am I, they're no help at all."

He put his arm around her and pulled her in, "Don't worry Hermione, you don't have to be a romantic heroine to attract me."

She dropped her head, "Don't you get it? I don't want to attract you Draco!"

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," he charmed, "But you've been failing miserably."

She shook her head, "But how can you say that? After all of the loud music, feminine products, chocolate binging, and atrocious pajama wearing? Are you delusional? I mean you're Draco sodding Malfoy! Aren't you supposed to date somebody slim, and blonde, and young, and dim, and – and fashionable? Admit it Malfoy," she choked out, horrified that she was holding back tears, "Without this stupid Prophecy you wouldn't have even looked twice at someone like me."

She turned her face away from him, trying to cover up the uncontrollable and frustrating array of emotions that were plaguing her. Why was she getting so upset?

He cleared his throat, "Well, your bloated level of intelligence does infuriate me, as do your goody-two shoes tendencies…not to mention your complete lack of style, your two best friends, and, yes, your choice in sleepwear."

She whipped her head back towards him, blood boiling. Right, it was OK for me to say it, but when HE insults-

"But, despite past appearances," he reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "I like you very much,"

What?

"Just as you are."

BAM. All breath and words seemed to be knocked out of her. She looked down and was severely dismayed to find that her chest actually had started heaving.

He liked her?

Over a million conflicting, negating arguments flooded her mind in response.

And 'Just as she was?'

Had her parents even said something like that to her?

Draco took her stupefied expression as encouragement and cautiously held onto her hands. She raised her eyes up slowly to meet his.

"I didn't know about the Prophecy in the future Hermione," he said pleadingly, "I just learnt about it last night with you, I swear it. It has nothing to do with…with how I feel."

She averted her gaze again, "A-About the Prophecy Draco," her voice trembled terribly, "Did it…did it come true?"

He smiled and felt his heart squeeze with affection. If he wasn't already, Draco would have fallen in love with her all over again. She was just so adorable when she tried to play it tough, tried to hide what she really felt. He knew it was time.

He raised his hand and softly lifted her chin, admiring her tenderly, "What do you think?"

He was staring at her lips and he was inching closer. She was inching closer. Hermione felt her heart racing almost painfully. They were going to kiss, she realized; a real, live, bonafide kiss. Not like the one he had orchestrated in the astronomy tower, but a real one. They're first.

BOOM The doors to the Common Room burst open. The two flew away from each other as if they'd been electrocuted.

"DRACO!" A voice called angrily, "Where the bloody hell have you – well, well, well. Just what have we got here?"


	10. Chapter 10

Draco Malfoy clenched his jaw and cursed himself to the depths for ever being stupid enough to give out his password to fellow Slytherins. Judging by the steamed (and highly embarrassed) look on Hermione's face she was probably thinking the same thing, although something more along the lines of Draco sodding Malfoy how many times do I have to tell you? Don't give out this password to anybody you can't trust! Meaning anybody from your house! In that terribly attractive voice of hers…

And damn it to hell if she wasn't completely right about that one. Like she was about everything.

"Blaise," Malfoy ground out through clenched teeth, "What the hell brings your smarmy arse bursting unannounced into my humble abode so early in the morning?"

But Blaise, merely continued to gawk at them like he was the cat that swallowed the canary, "Tsk, tsk Draco," he purred, "I might just ask you and Granger here the same question."

Hermione felt her cheeks inflame to the seventh level magenta and the urge to flee course through her like a virus. She didn't know what was worse; feeling angry because she had been caught, for wanting to curse Blaise to the dark depths of oblivion for interrupting, or for, once again, having to resist the urge to cower away.

She could see Draco puff up in preparation, ready to defend her with every last word, but-that wasn't what she really wanted, never what she'd wanted. What kind of a woman let a man fight her battles for her?

Hermione straightened her shoulders, Hell, she reminded herself, the hottest wizard in the school had just practically confessed his undying love for her, and did she mention that said boy was once her archenemy? Or that the bloody Unspeakables were out interfering with her future?! Oh, she could still be a match for Blaise Zabini. In fact, she swept out from behind Malfoy, Blaise Zabini was a piece of cake compared to all of that. She set her hands on her hips,

"Oh bugger off Zabini," she drawled lazily, inspecting her nails, "Go jump off a bridge or something."

Both Draco's and Blaise's heads snapped in her direction in disbelief. In a more appropriate setting, she might even have had to stifle a giggle at the ridiculousness of it all. But she wasn't finished yet, "And Malfoy," she fixed him with the most smoldering gaze she could muster, "We'll talk about that later."

Then she tossed her hair, sending it cascading over her shoulders, and managed to strut all the way to the portrait.

And so what if she had collapsed against the wall as soon as she got out…perhaps it was because it was finally February, or actually sunny out, but Hermione Granger was feeling better than she had in days.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Draco had to bite his lip to keep from laughing, or from moaning in pleasure for that matter. Blaise's mouth had dropped to the floor in shock and Malfoy couldn't remember feeling so proud. Hermione had just drawled.

"Well," Blaise's voice was oddly high and Draco noticed him loosen his collar, "Granger is certainly a-"

"Stone cold fox?" Malfoy supplied, eyebrows raised victoriously.

Blaise narrowed his eyes at his fellow Slytherin and shook his head, "Yeah-well, whatever!" He turned around, spotted a mirror, and began adjusting his school tie and inspecting his reflection.

"Listen Draco," he began, smoothly avoiding the matter at hand, "I only came by to discuss the morale of the team." He turned to look at Draco who managed to spare him a withering glance, "As we both know it's been significantly…low these past months, so I was thinking that…perhaps we could develop some sort of gimmick or-or catchphrase or something to heighten the mood and bring back support, you know?" He sighed, "Anyways, it was just a thought..."

Malfoy pushed off the wall he'd been leaning on, "No, I think it's a brilliant idea." Blaise looked genuinely shocked and Draco grinned, giving him a slap on the back, "C'mon Zabini old boy, you didn't think I'd pull out on you now did ya?"

Blaise shrugged, "I dunno, this whole fraternizing with the enemy thing…it seemed like we'd lost you."

Draco sighed, "Well, I don't know anything about 'fraternizing,' Blaise, but I'm not about to skip out on you guys. I mean, what are friends for?"

Blaise smirked, "Ogling their friend's girlfriend?"

Draco cuffed him on the arm, "Watch it Zabini," then he laughed, "Besides, she's not my girlfriend."

Blaise guffawed and punched him back, "Are you kidding me Draco? That look had shag me written all over it-"

"Zabini."

"Hey! I'm just sayin'!"

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Hermione floated dreamily into the Great Hall and sat down with a breathy sigh beside a very annoyed Ginny Weasley.

"Alright. What happened?" Hermione jerked back to reality in fright and fell off of the bench with a tiny squeal. Ginny didn't even bat an eye,

"That good, huh?" she called down towards her.

Hermione popped up and straightened her skirt self-consciously, "Ginevra Weasley," she hissed, sitting down, "Mind your mouth!"

Ginny merely rolled her eyes and Hermione noticed she was knitting. "And why on Earth are you knitting?"

She shot a white hot glare towards the other end of the table, "Potter."

"Ah," nodded Hermione wisely.

"Now spill."

Hermione turned her gaze downward and began fidgeting with a napkin; "I told off Blaise Zabini this morning?" she began hopefully.

"Uh huh,"

"And I-err, finished that super long essay for McGonagall a month early,"

"Yawn,"

"The Ravenclaws won their quidditch match yesterday!"

"Hermione!"

She winced, not wanting to meet her friend's curious stare. How was she supposed to explain everything without sounding completely insane? And, for that matter, was she even allowed?

She felt that stupid grin she'd been suppressing all morning creep up again. Oh to hell with it all!

"OK, but you must solemnly swear to tell absolutely nobody about this. I'm not even sure I'm allowed to tell you, but you are my very good friend and-and I could really do with some advice so it would be really great to tell you and have you comment and, err, perhaps criticize or raise a friendly flag or-"

Ginny had stopped knitting.

"Right," Hermione took a deep breath, "He kissed me, he's been in the future," she ticked off the facts on her fingers, "There's a prophecy made about us, and I told off Blaise Zabini."

Now Ginny had dropped her knitting.

"Ginny there's nothing else to tell you I swear!"

"No Hermione," Ginny shook her head and stood up, "I'm not angry," she lowered her voice, "Let's go to the Common Room. Now."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Draco wished he had a pensieve. Blaise had just left, leaving him with more questions than ever and he felt like his head was about to burst.

He kept thinking back to that look Hermione had given him. Blaise was right, it had been very come hither and forward, the kind of look that she had never given him. Well, in this decade anyway.

But what was even more alluring was her expression just before they'd almost kissed. It was almost as if…she'd wanted it.

God damn, he raked his hands threw his hair in frustration; all of this insane wondering was like murder. A man could definitely go crazy over-analyzing a woman's every move and-and-

DING.

He stood with a triumphant smile on his face. Draco Malfoy was seriously a genius, because he had just figured out how to solve his catchphrase and Hermione dilemma all in one. Fail. Swoop.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Ginny plopped down on her bed and tossed Hermione a chocolate frog. "So you kissed?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes, but believe me I did not initiate it in any way whatsoever."

"Did you respond?"

Hermione scoffed, "Hardly. Besides, there wasn't enough time to."

Ginny looked pleasantly surprised, "So it was quick? The infamous Draco Malfoy didn't jump you like the rumors would attest?"

Hermione shifted uneasily, more sharply aware of his perfect kissing form, his ability to find the spot on her wrist, "I think…I think he knew I wouldn't like it. I think he knows how I like to be kissed."

Ginny was staring at her in awe, "Oh wow. A boy who knows how you like to be kissed."

Hermione bit her lip in distress, "No, it's not like it sounds, more like he knows everything about me sometimes…he knows my favourite colour, food, perfume!"

Ginny looked puzzled, "But how?"

Hermione sighed, "That's just it, I don't remember telling him any of these things. He claims that he learned them in the future, because that's where he's been this whole long time and all. Apparently he was transported there by my necklace."

"Is that what he told you?"

Hermione shook her head, "No, he never wanted to talk about it. So, I figured it out myself, on-on our way to Dumbledore's office a couple nights ago…" her voice caught, "Then I learned for sure that it was true."

Ginny was completely mesmerized, "So he really did go to the future?"

She nodded, "Yep."

"And he met you there?"

Hermione pinched her lips together, "Yep."

Ginny released a breath, "Crimity."

Hermione nodded blankly. She didn't know whether or not she should share the rest about the Prophecy with Ginny. She picked at the comforter underneath her distractedly and frowned at the bright colour; she'd always wanted something lighter and fluffier herself, perhaps white.

Maybe if she told Ginny, she could help her figure out why she was still angry about not being able to kiss Draco that morning. Was it because of her noble desire to fulfill this prophecy and save mankind? Was this stupid prediction clouding her judgment just like Dumbledore had warned her it might?

"There's more," Hermione finally blurted out. Ginny was all ears.

"In Dumbledore's office he told us that Draco had been sent to the future, on purpose, because of a prophecy that had been made about a future savior," she paused taking a deeper breath, "Our future child."

Ginny's boxes of chocolate frogs tumbled off the bed unnoticed, her chocolate-filled hand stopping halfway to her mouth.

"So of course I freaked out," Hermione stood up and continued, "And I tried to turn him off in every single way imaginable, but it just wouldn't work. And then he said this thing, and I was about to kiss him, for real this time, when FREAKING Blaise Zabini walked in."

Ginny was on the edge of her seat, "No!"

"Yes!" Hermione jumped back on the bed, "That's when I told Blaise off and left, and gave Draco-I mean Malfoy- this stupid, smoldering look and-" she smacked her head, "What the hell am I doing?" She collapsed on the bed in defeat.

Ginny rubbed her hand on Hermione's back soothingly, "Don't be so hard on yourself Hermione, you're only human, and he's…he is,"

"Draco sodding Malfoy."

"Exactly,"

Hermione moaned, "Oh Ginny you're not helping!"

"Oh hush!" Ginny scolded and continued to rub her back, "All I'm trying to say," she continued softly, "Is that it sounds like Draco, yes Draco, is a pretty decent guy now," she sat up straighter, "I mean, let's review the facts. He defends you, he sits with you, he constantly compliments you, he kisses you, he respects your boundaries, and he's pretty much head over heals in lurrve with you."

Hermione groaned, "Mmmgnff,"

"No wonder you're beginning to feel maybe…a teensy, weensy bit attracted to him."

"I am not attracted to him," was her muffled reply.

Ginny tutted in disbelief.

"And so what if I want to kiss him?" Hermione raised her head. "Is that such a crime? Shall people be put on trial just for wanting a good snog nowadays?"

Ginny laughed and gave her friend a hug, "Oh Hermione, you are ridiculous."

Hermione squirmed away, "No Ginny! Stop grinning madly and talking about me being ridiculous! You don't know the half of it. I mean, imagine the things he knows about me, what with the food and the names and such…I mean he probably knows how I like to-to…"silence fell between them. Extremely uncomfortable silence

Both of them were thinking it. Just, who would be the first to say it?

"…Do it?" Ginny finally whispered.

Hermione was back in the pillow again squealing like a madwoman.

"AAhhhhhomghoaljljifehskownslalthtasuftt!IgnnylHep!"

"Err," Ginny began, "You're mumbling into the pillow again, I can't hear you."

Hermione came up for air, "I said ahhhh oh my god yesss and HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO HANDLE THAT GINNY HELP!

Ginny couldn't contain her laughter any longer and chuckled as her friend pouted huffily, "Oh relax Hermione," she grinned, "I'm sure he only has good things to say,"

"Ginny!"

Hermione was now whacking Ginny with the pillow. Ginny attempted to protect her head from the erratic down-filled assault, albeit extremely unsuccessfully,

"Alright!" She raised her hands in defeat, "Alright, ALRIGHT, enough already! I surrender!"

Hermione stopped whacking and held the pillow close to her chest, both of them sitting in thoughtful silence for a while as the clouds crossed over the sun.

"I don't even know how I like to do it Ginny," Hermione finally murmured, turning shining eyes towards her friend.

Ginny knew it wasn't the lack of sexual experience that was frightening her friend. Hermione was a know-it-all, she wanted to know everything possible at all times. And with this, well she wasn't about to find an answer in any of her books, and to make matters worse, Draco seemed to have all the right answers. She pulled her friend in close for a hug, "Oh Hermione Granger," she breathed, "I know this all seems so grand and that you must feel totally overwhelmed but, I promise you it will be alright. Professor Dumbledore knows what he's doing."

Hermione looked up at her and sniffled, "But does he really Gin? He kept telling me not to let this prophecy get to me, but it's practically all I can think about. And when I manage not to there's Draco again and-and," she sobbed, "And then I'm thinking about it all over!"

"…Well you know," Ginny began tentatively, "I really want to help you with this, but it seems to me like the best person to go to for help would be Malfoy. He probably had to deal with all of this in the future already and I think you'd be surprised to learn you can probably relate to what he went through."

Hermione wiped at her nose, "And what if he says something terribly romantic and I end up almost kissing him again, or worse, what if I actually do?"

Ginny shrugged, "So what? If it happens, it happens. No one is going to disown you or force you to wear a scarlet letter."

Hermione cracked a smile, "Good God you are so like your mum sometimes," Ginny narrowed her eyes threateningly, "I mean thanks Gin, thanks for not thinking I'm a complete idiot."

Ginny laughed, "Nah, I knew you were already thinking that yourself. Besides, what are friends for anyways?"

"Justifying torrid affairs with very bad boys?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow, "Or lightning-scarred best friends?"

Hermione grinned, "Exactly."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Hermione made her way back to the Great Hall jumping at anything displaying semi-sudden movement or light coloured hair. Already, she had nearly pulled a hamstring diving away from Colin Creevey, thrown a fit at the sight of a Ravenclaw quidditch uniform, and almost sprained an ankle near a Professor Lockhart portrait. And after that last bout, she was curling her hands into fists with frustration.

Where the bloody hell was Draco?

He was nearly out of air from sprinting around Hogwarts in search of her. He needed to set out on his new plan, and fast, because after lunch they had Head Meetings with Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall, and after that, he and Hermione usually retired to their own Common Rooms because it was the weekend and, normally, they couldn't stand spending another moment with each other.

He checked his watch; damnit. It was already half past noon. If he didn't return for the Head Meeting now he was going to have no time to talk to her.

Hermione was knotted like a pretzel with nerves sitting here alone, waiting, and watching the common room clock tick carelessly by. She wrung her hands and tapped her feet while anxiously staring at the door. Daring it to defy her and not reveal Draco in the next two minutes.

Tick, Tick, Tick.

And yet there it went.

Tick, Tock, Tick.

WHERE WAS H-

Then the door opened and there he was. Smiling. Oh, the nerve

"Where have you been?!" they exclaimed simultaneously.

"Me?" they both roared back, feeling highly affronted, and also slightly unnerved at all this simultaneity.

"Yes You!" Again simultaneous.

"Oh shut up!" Hermione yelled, finally breaking the spell, "I have something to say to you,"

Malfoy crossed his arms, "Well I have something to say to you too."

"Alright," she took a deep breath, "Let's just say it then."

He nodded tightly, "Right, yes, of course. We'll just do it."

They both cleared their throats,

"I want you to make-"

"How did you fall in-"

"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy,"

Damnit, crap, shoot, ass, piss, effing, head in hole.

Dumbledore smiled benignly at both of them, "Glad to see you are both punctually present. Now, let's begin."

Hermione begrudgingly turned away from Malfoy, momentarily stunned by their incredibly bad luck and even worse timing. Ooo, if the professors had only come a mere minute later, then maybe she could have actually talked to him and sorted some things out, but NOOO. They world could not be so simple. Or so kind.

So, she huffed and puffed, and stared at the clock; finally deciding to compose herself. Yes, she would have to survive over an hour of this blasted meeting in one piece, but then, they would be home free, and they would finally be alone.

The meeting seemed to drone on and on like never before and Hermione and Draco were both so delirious with waiting that by the time they finally reached the topic that was the misadventure of Filch and Peeves, they could barely prevent their brains from dropping out of their heads.

Dumbledore stopped suddenly and looked up,

"Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy," both abruptly came to, "Any questions? Comments? Concerns?"

They both shook their heads and shrugged profusely, "No, no, of course not Sir, sounds very good to me Sir." Just end this. NOW!

"Right," Professor McGonagall stood, "Well Miss Granger, if you would so kindly accompany me back to the Common Room," Hermione blanched in realization. Shit.

McGonagall looked slightly alarmed at her expression, "I'll give you time to gather your things Miss Granger," she peered at Hermione over her glasses, "Of course."

Hermione turned away and stared helplessly at Draco. Oh Double Shit. She had completely forgotten about the House meeting with Professor McGonagall! She felt so stupid and angry and betrayed. Now when the hell would she get a chance to talk with him? She looked up at the ceiling in desperation, knowing, that if she didn't do this now, she might never have the chance. It had to be done.

"A-actually," she began hesitantly as four heads turned in her direction, "I do have something to say about Filch and Peeves." They all stared at her expectantly, Dumbledore appearing highly amused. Oh boy she gulped; I hope I know where I'm going with this.

She began pacing, "Perhaps Filch is feeling very overwhelmed by things right now, especially in regard to Peeves, and he doesn't really mean to be cruel or snappy, it's just that he's…very uncertain." She looked at Draco imploringly. Please get this, she prayed silently.

"Well Hermione, I'm sure that Peeves," he smiled encouragingly at her and she relaxed, "Is somewhat aware of Filch's dilemma, but I also believe that he too is uncertain. He's been constantly trying to meet Filch's demands and expectations without any response from-erm-him," he cracked a small smile while Snape and McGonagall both looked completely dumbfounded.

"Also, his ego has probably been hurt," Draco went on, "And now Peeves doesn't know what to do, because everything he does seems to be wrong in the eyes of Filch, mostly due to a silly bias that Filch has formed of him over the years," Hermione raised an eyebrow dangerously, "That he earned deservedly. Of course," she chuckled.

"So," Draco took a step towards her and his tone softened, "I propose that Filch be the one to make the first move this time," her heart fluttered, "Instead."

Then the room was complete silence. Bewildered, aroused, awestruck, and annoyed silence.

Dumbledore clapped a hand lightly on Hermione's shoulder, "Well Miss Granger," his eyes twinkled cryptically, "I believe it's now time for you to accompany Minerva to the tower. You too Mr. Malfoy, I think we've all had more than enough discussion about," he cleared his throat purposely, "Wheezing custodians and resilient poltergeists for one day."

She nodded and escaped to her room to fetch her things.

Draco was sulking out with Professor Snape when he remembered the second part of his plan. The catchphrase. The image of a grey sweatshirt from many years in the future floated in his mind,

"Professor,"

Snape acknowledged him sourly,

"Blaise and I have been putting our heads together to come up with a new motto for the quidditch team and I've had a wonderful idea."

Snape clicked his tongue in a very annoyed fashion; his unique way of communicating.

"Team Slytherin," Draco fanned his arms out, visualizing the banner, "Snakes Do It in the Grass."

Snape lazily rolled his eyes and then motioned Malfoy away with a flick of his hand, his way of indicating approval, and this left Draco somewhat satisfied. At least something had been accomplished today.

Meanwhile, Hermione reentered the Common Room with her things and numbly registered McGonagall's arm wrap around her; leading her out of the room in a complete daze. Hermione felt like she might forget how to walk properly,

He wanted her to make the first move?

She bit down on the inside of her cheek.

How would the Prophecy ever come true now?


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Valentine's Day

Control had never made Hermione Granger feel so miserable. She hadn't been able to do anything useful all weekend besides stare listlessly out windows and absently stroke Crookshanks behind the ears. Every part of her felt torn in a different directions and she didn't have the slightest notion of which bit to listen to, nor did she feel like going to anyone for advice; not even Ginny, who probably would have been a big help.

No, instead her entire being was stuck in a death spiral of indecision that flew unceasingly between argument and imagination. Should she make a verbal suggestion? Reach out for his hand? Grab him and kiss him madly? Write him a note? Ask for some time? Or tell him…tell him no…

Because, she honestly had no idea. Not only about what to do…but about whether she wanted to at all.

She tried to put on a happy face for Ron and Harry, but she kept finding herself becoming distracted with counting water droplets on the rain-covered tower windows. Harry waved his hand in front of her eyes for the sixth time that chess game,

"Hermione? Earth to Hermione Granger!"

She jolted and shook her head, "What? Yes? Sorry,"

He looked annoyed, "You missed your turn. Again."

She adjusted her legs to sit up straighter and swept her hair out of her face, "Right, Harry I'm sorry it's just…all of this school work and responsibility with Head Girl is really getting to me and I-"

He pushed the chess board away from him and moved to stand up, "Yeah, you keep saying that. I guess we should just cut this game short then, to give you time to clear your head."

She felt her heart sink even lower, "Harry no, I'll be a better sport I promise, I don't want to ruin your weekend too!"

He pushed the pieces off and slammed the board shut, barely listening, "Maybe another time Hermione," he grumbled, before disappearing up to his dormitory.

Feeling completely disheartened now, she slipped back into the window nook and drew the curtains to hide herself from the room, hugging her knees to her chest. She bit back the tears that yearned to fall and reverted to counting water droplets yet again. One, two, three, four…

On early Sunday morning, Hermione got so sick of herself that she decided to pull out a piece of parchment and compose a list. A list of pros and cons. She nibbled thoughtfully on the top of her quill and frowned at the despairingly long list of negatives. Five minutes later she was counting rain again.

The day drizzled slowly by and she hauled her carcass over to her old bed to attempt to tackle her thoughts under the covers. She tossed and turned and restrained herself from ripping out her hair until she had worked herself into such a state that there was no chance she would ever fall asleep.

That inconsiderate prick ruined my weekend. She felt her anger begin to flair and it felt good.

The sheer infuriating gall of him even suggesting such a thing as her making the first move! Pshaw! Puh-lease! As if! As if she'd ever want to make a move with that good-for-nothing, smirking, prophecy-following, hateful boy.

She flipped over onto her other side and scowled at the hairbrush on her nightstand; living with him was going to drive her completely crazy. He was going to make all sorts of outrageous and off colour remarks, he was going to give her gooey looks and egg her on and trace delightful circles on her wrist and…

God damnit! How she loathed him!

She swung sharply onto her back and stared incensed at the ceiling. Then she stared disheartened at the ceiling, then sadly, and finally miserably. She knew that Sunday night would arrive far too soon.

And it did: Sunday night arrived and she found herself standing outside the Head's portrait and dragging her blasted things back inside. She spotted Malfoy lounging and reading a book on the couch and hurried into her bedroom. Alas, her hope of being ignored was too good to be true,

"Need any help there Hermione? Or should I say Filch?"

Hermione stopped and told herself to count to ten. No need to start yelling at him after being back for roughly four seconds.

"Nope. I'm fine thank you."

He sat up, alarmed that she was unaffected by his remark. What if she hasn't been thinking about me all weekend? He cleared his throat,

"Had a fun-filled weekend of scrubbing toilets then?"

She squeezed the handle of her bag, Patience Hermione, "No, but Harry and I played some very exciting chess games,"

"Oh ho, how thrilling. I bet afterwards all of your friends baked cookies, sang songs, and tried to save the World. Sound about right?"

Right, she dropped her bag, eleven seconds was quite long enough to go, "For your information," she felt her voice begin to shake with rage, "My entire bloody weekend was all blown to pot thanks to YOU! I WAS HORRIBLE TO MY FRIENDS, I IGNORED THOSE WHO TRIED TO HELP, AND I WASTED EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF MY PRECIOUS TIME!"

She vaguely registered Malfoy stand up as she tried to ration with herself to stop talking. She was angry and she had no clue what she was saying, although she didn't doubt that it sounded highly insane and knew that it was cripplingly embarrassing. Shut up brain! She mentally berated herself, shut up mouth, just SHUT UP!

"Doing what?" She jumped as she realized Draco was right in front of her, had he said something? Was he talking to her? As if sensing her dire confusion he asked again,

"You wasted every single moment of your precious time this weekend doing what?"

She felt her cheeks flame uncontrollably and her palms sweat. Her stomach seemed to drop out and she looked around wildly for an escape, oh no, he had not just asked that…had he? This was far too much; her crap weekend, her dilemma, and now this! She released a noise of frustration and stomped her foot,

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU STUPID PRAT!?"

Hermione, completely horrified with her outburst, covered her mouth in abomination as Draco's mouth began to twitch. Was he…smiling? At her expense? Her eyes narrowed, not on her watch he wasn't,

"Oh for heaven's sake go away!" she swatted at him, "And stop smirking like the cat that caught the blasted canary! Yes I was thinking about you but NO I'm not going to blooming snog you!" she exclaimed, thankful that she had finally uttered something sensible, and stormed into her bedroom.

"The ball's in your court Hermione!" he yelled at her retreating back.

She reached her room, slammed her door, and leant back against it breathing heavily.

"Yes," she murmured hopelessly to herself, "And I still have no idea what to do with it."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Hermione, oddly, slept soundly through the night and felt wonderfully refreshed the next morning with an urge to attempt a fresh start. She lathered her body in a lukewarm shower and pulled her hair back with a clip to keep it dry. She looked at her reflection resolutely and made a decision; she would try to view Draco and all of her feelings towards him on a purely objective basis. No more past nonsense, no more anger or empty words, just two, mature adults…forced to deal with one another.

She opened the door to find him waiting outside and gave him a pleasant smile, "Good morning Draco, I hope you haven't been waiting too long."

He raised his eyebrows and shook his head, "Not at all…" He stared at her in silence, "I'll see you in class?"

She nodded, "Yep."

He shut the door to the bathroom and she sighed with relief. There, she had actually been civil, and it wasn't too bad.

The day continued smoothly enough, although Hermione did run into Draco much more than was normal. It really helped put her new oath to be civil to the test, especially when she spotted him rounding the corner where she sat waiting outside McGonagall's office in her, their, free period. She felt her old anger itch irritatingly Hell's bells, how much of this unnatural punishment am I going to have to take? Don't I see him enough outside of class? But then Draco nodded in greeting and she used all her might to put on a small smile and say,

"Fancy meeting you here,"

Draco laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck in distraction, "Yeah, I just can't seem to get away from you," His sincere tone made her soften a bit.

"I know," her smile grew, "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were following me."

Did she detect a flicker of mischief in his eyes? Her body hummed unwittingly and she frowned. "Who me?" he grinned, "Never."

Just then, McGonagall poked her head out of her office looking extremely flustered, "I'm sorry you two," she huffed, "But if it's not urgent than your visits will have to wait, I'm far too busy to take you right now."

Draco shrugged, but Hermione was glad for the rain check. Malfoy was still flirting with her, he was still being charming, and he had just admitted to following her and she needed to face it head on. She sank down lower on the bench and turned to him as McGonagall left,

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Draco Malfoy?"

He looked hurt, "Why? Do you want him back?"

She stood and started walking, "Well, nooo…but at least I understood him."

He joined her and clenched his jaw, "Obviously not."

She snorted in disbelief.

He grabbed at his hair, sick to his heart with apologizing, "I was stupid, immature, afraid-Look Hermione, I can only say I'm sorry so many times-"

"Well then at least say it once." He looked up; her eyes were brimming with emotion and fire.

Draco's mouth was agape, he felt completely lost for words. Had he really not apologized? All of this time and he had not once asked, no begged, for forgiveness after all of his past sins?

"…I never realized…" his voice was a hair above a whisper, "Hermione I'm so sorry." He got down on one knee, "Please, please forgive me."

She tried to hide her smile at his wildly dramatic gesture, "It's fine," she mumbled and he squinted,

"What?" he nearly shouted and she felt slightly embarrassed, did he have to be so loud?

"I said its fine," she ground out, "And for god's sake stand up," she hissed.

He beamed and jumped up to continue walking with her, "Alright," they strolled lazily, "I just hope that you're really OK with it."

She rolled her eyes, "I said it's fine, just drop it."

"Fine," he breathed, "It's just that it was six years of constant torment you know, I mean, it can't be that easy to get over."

She stopped and put her hands on her hips, "Are you actually joking about this?"

He stared at her, feigning a serious expression, "Just trying to lighten the mood Granger,"

She scoffed and started walking away again, "So now its Granger again is it?"

He sped up as he noticed a smile tugging at her lips, "Yeah, I'm trying on the old Malfoy for size,"

She laughed and turned a corner, he continued to follow her, "Well you're failing miserably, the old Malfoy would never have followed me around,"

"Don't be so sure."

She stopped short, looking completely stunned, "What?"

She looked at him and was delighted to see he was finally the one looking uncomfortable. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and avoided her gaze,

"I've always been sort of…fascinated by you," he admitted slowly.

She stepped closer to him and spoke softly, a new emotion trickling through her veins, "Seriously? The Draco Malfoy was fascinated by me?"

He shrugged, as if to make it unimportant, "You were forbidden fruit."

She moved to force him to look at her, "Excuse me?" she giggled, and motioned to herself in a cute, self-deprecating way, "Forbidden fruit?"

His eyes darkened and shone with suggestion, "Oh come on Hermione, don't tell me you've never thought about it."

She opened her mouth to speak but stopped. Now it was her turn to feel uncomfortable. Had she ever thought about him like that? She tried to block the memory from her mind, of a day right at the beginning of seventh year, she couldn't tell him that. She would never hear the end of it.

She started walking again, "No."

Draco pulled a look of disbelief and caught up to her, "No?" he sounded personally affronted, "Not once? You have got to be joking!"

"What?" she countered smugly, "Can't believe that someone can resist your charms?"

He stepped in front of her and started walking backwards, "You are lying."

She felt her cheeks redden, "Am not."

He crossed his arms, "Are to."

She crossed hers, "Am not."

"Are to"

"Am not"

"Are to!"

"Am!" She stopped. Hadn't she agreed on ending all of this nonsense? She watched the sun filter through the windows of the Entrance Hall behind him and a ludicrous idea hit her,

"Draco would you like to walk around the lake with me?"

Malfoy ran into her with shock. Had she just? Were they going to? Had they just? Had she just…just asked him to do something? With her?

Hermione smiled uncontrollably, reveling in her ability to make him uncomfortable twice in the past ten minutes. She didn't know what had made her do it, but she wasn't regretting the decision yet so her rash action might actually turn out OK. Plus, they both had a free period to kill. She inhaled with satisfaction, making the first move wasn't so bad after all, it was just about timing. She continued to smile like a loon while anxiously awaiting his answer; though she was pretty sure she knew what it would be,

"Y-yes," he finally spoke, looking uncannily like a fish out of water.

As they exited Hogwarts and trotted down the steps Hermione's mind was dragged back to that memory she had recently repressed. It had been so long since she thought about it, mainly because she didn't like to and she really didn't like the feelings it aroused nor the questions it posed to her own sanity, but the way the sun was reflecting off of Draco's skin and the way the wind ruffled his hair…she couldn't help but think back.

It had been the end of their hellish first week as roommates and Hermione had just returned from a late dinner with Harry and Ron. She opened the door quietly, so as not to disturb Malfoy had he gone to bed, and was silently startled to see him reading by the fire. He hadn't noticed her presence and she took the temporary invisibility to observe him in a way she had never been allowed.

His hair was slightly mussed, his shirt was untucked, and the top buttons undone. She experienced a little thrill as he smiled at something on the pages and marveled at the way his golden arm hair shone in the soft firelight. And for an instant she pictured herself. There. Beside him. With him. They would both read by the fire in companionable silence, him with his loosened collar and her in baggy pants with a mug of tea…she felt a foreign tugging sensation in her chest and turned away quickly. What was that? What on Earth had ever possessed her to stop and watch and think that? She quickly got ready for bed and grabbed a book of her own, but when she came out to read - he was gone.

So she pushed the musing to the back of her mind forevermore and chalked the whole instance up to temporary insanity. And yes, she had looked at Draco and appreciated his supply of physical beauty since, but…never like that. Never before had she envisioned it involving her.

Draco noticed she was shivering and reached over to button her cloak. She jerked away,

"Sorry," he murmured, inches from her, "Your teeth were chattering."

She tried to blink away the fog of her thoughts and smile in appreciation, "Thank you."

He nodded, "Not thinking about something unpleasant I hope?"

She shook her head, "No just thinking," she was suddenly compelled to go on, "About what we were talking about earlier actually."

The left corner of his mouth curved upwards, "Ah, so you have been fantasizing about me."

She laughed and rolled her eyes, "Only once I swear," Malfoy gawked and she flew into a fit of laughter at his expression.

"What?!" He exclaimed, "Is the Hermione Granger actually going to admit she was attracted to me?"

She ran ahead and crunched at the frost, "The fresh air brings it out in me!"

"Well, tell me!" They reached the shore of the lake and Hermione slowed her pace,

"You tell me first."

He raised his eyebrows in defeat; damn he should've seen that coming.

"Alright," he acquiesced, "Mostly it was whenever you were yelling at me or looking extremely flustered that I would feel drawn to you," he chuckled, "But there was this one time…I think it was in September and we had had the worst week ever trying to live with each other and you had gone out to dinner with Potter and Weasley or something or other. Anyways, I had already gone to bed, but woke up to go to the bathroom. I slowly opened my door and there you were sprawled out on the couch completely enraptured in one of your books and I was lost in you. Your expression, your loose-fitting pants, your hair, your mug of tea, the glow of the fire… you see I had been doing the same thing myself earlier and seeing you there just made me picture me there too. With you. And it scared me half to death," he looked at her to gauge her reaction. She seemed to be on another planet.

"You?" he finally said to break the silence.

"I know you were reading that night," she sounded completely in awe, "Because I had watched you in secret, I too had felt the same thing," she looked at him, "I saw myself there with you." She stared away at the opposite shore and laughed softly at the coincidence, "Who would ever have thought?"

"I know, if only we'd seen each other. Then those bloody Unspeakables might've saved themselves the trouble."

She looked at him thoughtfully, "Do you really think that would've made a difference? I mean, would either of us have acted on it?"

"Well…no," he began, "But we both would've seen the others thoughts exposed, feelings of unresolved tension may arise," he raised his hands and made some movements, "And well…you know."

Hermione stopped and looked at him incredulously, "Draco Malfoy are you saying what I think you're saying?" her voice had raised a good octave.

He waggled his eyebrows, "That depends. What do you think I'm saying?"

She crossed her arms, "That I would have slept with you!"

He shrugged, "Hey it's only natural. I mean, we do live in the same bloody house."

She started stalking away, "What about me? What about my morals?"

Draco sped up, "Trust me Hermione, you did not believe in no sex before marriage-"

She flew around looking absolutely beet red, "Don't you dare throw my virtue into question Draco!"

He raised his hands in defense, "I am doing nothing of the sort, besides, if we love each other than what's the problem?"

She was blushing and stomping her feet furiously, "The problem is we're only eighteen and not married!" She was storming away at an incredible rate now.

"Hermione," he groaned in exasperation, "Would you slow down and talk to me? Or at least listen?" She continued plowing ahead, "Look I didn't mean to make you mad alright? If it makes you feel any better I won't ever talk about sex again, my lips are sealed, I promise." Draco felt his manhood shrinking with all these promises, but then his insides growled at the knowledge that he'd promised only not to talk about it.

She slowed down.

"And you can ask me whatever questions you like," he threw in to sweeten the deal, "I swear I'll answer all of them."

She really slowed down.

"Hermione?" he spoke tentatively. It had worked.

"Tell me about your father."

He sighed, he knew this was going to come up, but he still didn't know what to say. Talking about his dad made him so angry and upset; it wasn't a place he liked to go to, especially not in front of other people. He wanted to tell her, he did really, but it would be so much easier to get pissed off and walk away. He sighed again; he supposed this was really what relationships were all about.

"I-it's-He," he paused, "It's all a little much to explain, he is…complicated."

"It's a big lake."

The made him smile, Christ she was so cheeky. "Alright then Granger keep your pants on," he cleared his throat, "You see it starts like…"

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Hermione ate her dinner in absolute ecstasy that night. And the next, and the one after that, and then the one after the one after that. She and Draco had spent all of their free periods that week hiking the grounds and swapping all sorts of stories. Already she had learned that his favourite colour was green, (no shock there) his favourite food was filet mignon, his favourite book was by Hemingway, that he loved sailing, skiing, and Quidditch, and that he aspired one day to travel all around the world…by plane.

Her mind wandered further and she sighed sadly; the next day loomed like a dark cloud over a perfectly stunning week. She had the weekly Heads meeting to look forward to before another weekend of living back with the Gryffidors. Hanging out with Harry and Ron was nice, but just not as anticipated as it once was, and she found herself wishing to be able to relax at her place this one time. Surely the boys would understand?

"Hermione!" Ron crashed his tray down beside her, breaking her reverie "Can't wait to see you, big Quidditch match this weekend eh? Ready to cheer on your team!?"

She swirled her fork around her mashed potatoes, "Oh right, that, yes I suppose it will be exciting."

Ron's eyes bulged unattractively as he loaded his mouth with food, "You suppose? Are you kidding me, this is the only thing Harry's been talking about for weeks now! C'mon Hermione you've got to get your face painted."

She snorted, "Not likely."

"Well at least help out with the decorations since you'll be staying over-"

"Actually," she interrupted, catching Draco's eye, "I'm not so sure I'll be staying over this weekend." Ron dropped his fork with a ringing clatter and stopped eating. Hermione gulped. Crap. Ron never stopped eating.

"Hermione," Ron looked as if she'd just run over his puppy, "This is your Quidditch team we're talking about here. You have the weekends off and - and what on Earth could be more important than-"

"I know!" she cut in quickly, trying to appease him. Perhaps neglecting to show up to Gryffindor Tower all together was a bad idea. "And I promise I'll be at the game I just can't – I mean I'm unsure if I'll be able to…to stay over. For the entire thing."

Ron stared blankly down at his plate, "Harry's going to be pretty bummed."

She heaved a sigh and nodded, "Yeah, I know."

"We both feel like we hardly see you anymore"

"I know."

"It's always head business this, Dumbledore needs me that."

Hermione's patience was beginning to wear thin, "Yes Ron I understand."

"You know, it just really makes us feel left out. It is our last year after all, and Harry could really use your support out there," He stopped upon viewing her death glare, "It'd be nice if you were there is all I'm saying," he finished.

She nodded with a false air of cheeriness while really trying to tone Ron out and get a better look at Draco. She must admit, if she had known absolutely nothing about the blonde, if he was now only a complete stranger to her, she must confess that she too would be one of the many women dying to walk up to him and chat. And if she had ever worked up the courage, Hermione knew she would then only be further allured by his intelligence, wit, and-

"It's also Valentine's Day this weekend," Ron interjected causing everything in Hermione's body to stop functioning. Completely.

VALENTINE'S DAY!?

She whipped her planner out of her school bag and flipped wildly through the pages until finally opening up to the month of February after many failed attempts.

Sunday February 14 it read and she sat back; the hard, cold facts staring her in the face by way of unfriendly black ink.

Sunday was Valentine's Day.

Well, she snapped her planner shut with a snap, it seemed that her mind had been made up for her. There was no way in hell she was spending Valentine's Day anywhere near the body, nigh even the body heat of Draco Malfoy.

"Ron," she spoke resignedly, "It seems that you can expect me present for decorating this weekend after all."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Draco cracked his knuckles anxiously while waiting for Hermione to emerge from her bedroom for the Head's meeting. Their week together had been simply lovely, but the impending national Love Holiday was driving him absolutely bonkers. Of every week for them to get along it had to be this stinking week, because Malfoy knew if he screwed up on Valentine's Day…well it was pretty much over, and all of their progress would be for nothing.

Just then Hermione stepped out, momentarily pausing his Valentine's worrying, and giving him something completely new to fret about. Malfoy smacked himself in the head realizing his sheer stupidity; Hermione was decked out in full Gryffindor garb forcing him to remember – the quidditch match! With all of this anxiety he had completely forgotten!

She sat down next to him looking concerned, "I'd say good morning but, what's the matter?"

"I completely forgot about this game," he mumbled into his hands.

"Oh. And you're supposed to have-"

"Set up," his voice strangled out.

She looked at her watch and clicked her tongue, "The match begins only two hours after the meeting,"

"I know," He wailed despairingly into his hands, "What the hell am I going to do?"

Hermione chewed at her bottom lip in deep concentration. She had promised Ron to help decorate but…but No. God damnit tomorrow was Valentine's Day and ending up here would be way too much!

She sighed softly and allowed her gaze to wander towards him uncertainly, in what she reasoned was a moment of weakness.

His hunched shoulders and the elegant arch of his back forced that foreign sensation of warmth and curiosity to creak its way into her tight bones and filter through her bloodstream. Her knees weakened, her pulse quickened, her cheeks flushed.

"I-I did promise Ron and Harry that I would help decorate this weekend," she heard herself say. Oh God what was she doing? She still had no idea what she wanted.

He lifted his head and seemed to see straight through her. Hermione hugged her arms around herself defensively and tried to break eye contact, but it was becoming increasingly difficult after the revealing week they'd shared together. After everything they'd been sharing lately.

"I'd just need your help for those few hours before the match starts," he answered slowly, weighting his words very carefully. He could sense her discomfort and caution, and although he'd love nothing better than to spend tomorrow with her, he never wanted to put her in a position that felt…awkward or unwanted. So, although it pained him, he went on,

"Afterwards you'd be free to do whatever you uh - wanted."

"Thank you."

He shrugged, trying to play it off, "Nah it's nothing, besides you'd be the one helping me."

She shook her head and walked towards him, looking irresistibly ridiculous in her scarlet and gold. She laid her hand over his, "No. I mean thank you. For everything, for being this way, for being so patient and understanding with me," She graced him with a small smile,

Draco felt himself gulp at her closeness.

"Thank you for letting me get to know you Draco," she looked straight into his eyes, "I'm glad that I'm finally beginning to."

He smiled, "Me too,"

"Good morning," both of the Heads started and blushed furiously as the Headmaster greeted them softly from the Portrait Hall. Neither had noticed him enter and Dumbledore's eyes were shining like the sun on its brightest day. Draco gave him a look,

"Hello Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger, I hope I'm not interrupting anything because I could certainly reschedule if need – ah – be."

While Draco was warming to the idea, Dumbledore earned himself another disapproving look, but this time from Hermione,

"Certainly not," she exclaimed, looking offended, "This is a rule abiding, dignified institution and the Heads will never allow its name to be marred in any way, under any circumstances under our watch. It says in Hogwarts A History that never once has a Heads Meeting been missed."

Both Dumbledore and Draco exchanged smiles and laughed despite themselves. Malfoy's eyes crinkled tenderly as he gazed at the scowling Hermione; you could just never take the Granger out of the girl, could you?

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The meeting went smoothly enough after their awkward encounter with Dumbledore and Hermione was currently outside busting her butt to set up for this god forsaken quidditch match. It was a ruddy large waste of time if you asked her, she cursed as she nicked her finger, and nothing productive came out of zooming around on a broomstick.

She narrowed her eyes as Draco flew around her singing an encore of Weasley is Our King for the umpteenth time.

"That's not funny!" she called, as he did a fancy loop-de-loop overhead, "And Ron won that game! Remember?"

He stopped mid-air and swooped down beside her, "I was only having a little fun Hermione," He teased, poking her cheekily in the side, "No need to go around ruining it for me."

She put her hands on her hips and threw him a glare, although she could feel her lips itching to curl into a smile, "Well that's my job isn't it? Hermione Granger the know-it-all, Hermione Granger the fun-sucker."

He leaned on his broom and anchored his foot on the bottom, "Oh no Miss Granger," he wagged his finger at her as the broom hovered above the grass and began to move backward.

"Naughty, naughty. I can tell that you are only fishing for a compliment, but I," he motioned gallantly to himself, "Will not give in to your vain needs, "His voice became distinctly huskier than usual, "Because anyone who saw you would agree, you are in no position to render pity."

He swung his leg over the side of the broom and soared back into the air leaving her decidedly knotted below. She had to shade her eyes to hold a look of him in the crisp, sunny afternoon and she caught a faint scent of spring in the air.

Hermione didn't know how long she stood standing there, watching, but as she moved her fingers absentmindedly over her lips, she was horrified to feel them curled up into the biggest, goofiest grin in the history of mankind. Her eyes shot down and she frantically rearranged her features into something far less…insane. Because, what the hell was wrong with her?

She stared around suspiciously making sure the coast was clear, what if someone had seen?

In the distance the bells rang alerting everyone to make their way to the pitch and Draco descended slowly to land beside her.

"Excellent job on the Gryffindor end," he congratulated, admiring her handy work. She nodded in thanks and gazed proudly at her splendidly decorated team bench,

"Yes," she agreed, "It really did turn out well didn't it?"

He patted her on the shoulder, "It did, I'm now extra happy that you helped me."

Floundering silence then fell upon them as they wrestled with all of the things they had yet to say.

"I'll guess I'll see you Monday?" Malfoy offered hastily, making an attempt at normal conversation.

"Yep," she answered equally as cheerily, scrounging for an exit.

"OK"

"Great!"

"S'later then,"

"Yes, goodbye!"

They both turned in opposite directions and Hermione did her best to feel normal and unfazed…but it was no use. She looked back at him, knowing full well that there was absolutely nothing normal about this.

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The Gryffindors had won, the Gryffindors had partied, and now Valentine's Day was upon them. And Valentine's Day had trotted ahead. And now it was nearly over.

Hermione buried her exhausted head under her pillow in a futile attempt to block out the ceaseless noise below her; did she mention that the Gryffindors were still partying?

She flipped onto her back and thought fondly of her own bedroom, of the Head Common Room's silent expanses, of her personal kitchen. She wondered what Draco was doing…

"HERMIONE!" Ginny burst in wearing a knee length gold wig, Harry's trousers, a bra, and nothing else. She was obviously wasted.

Hermione groaned, "Gin I'm not in the mood,"

"But HERMIONE," she slurred, stumbling over to the Head Girl's bed, "You're missing out on all the fun. C'mon! You haven't touched a drop all weekend and the Gryffindors won! We bloody won!"

Hermione wrinkled her nose at her friend's breath, "Yes I bloody know that!"

Ginny reeled back, "Jeez, no need to get all pissy on me. Are the painters in or something?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed and her fists clenched, "No," she growled, trying to contain her anger, "It is not that time of the month Ginny."

The red head plopped down on her bed, "Then what is it? Why are you acting like such a ninny?"

Hermione threw the covers off of her and stood up, moving to pack up her things. "You know what Gin? I don't need this. Not today. Not from you," she stuffed things blindly into her bag, "If anyone asks I've gone back to my Common Room."

Ginny stood on wobbly legs, "Hermione wait, I didn't mean to upset you, I'm sorry, Me of all people know whats it is you're dealing wif these days, and this day most of all."

Hermione felt her heart sink, oh why wouldn't everyone just go away? So she still didn't know what she wanted! SO WHAT!

"Ginny I really don't want to talk about-"

"But Hermione-"

"I said!" she turned around sharply, "That is ENOUGH," she closed her bag. "I'm not angry or anything I just…need some peace. Does that make sense?"

Ginny nodded, "Yes. It is Valentine's Day after all so love somebody, even if it's just yourself."

Hermione smiled, "You know what Ginny? You're actually starting to make sense again," she smirked, "Better go get a refill."

She ducked out of the room laughing as Ginny chucked a pillow at her and clutched unsteadily at the staircase. It was almost impossible to see in the flurry of activity and fireworks flying down here and she called goodbyes to Harry and Ron as she weaved herself in and out of people in all different states of intoxication and undress. Ron caught her around the wrist,

"You're leaving already?" he yelled.

"Yes!" she screamed back, "It's almost ten o'clock!"

He shook his head and released her, "Wait Hermione!" But she didn't hear him in the deafening boom of the stereo and kept going.

She pushed the portrait open with all of her might and finally emerged into the cool air of the almost unbearably quiet corridor. Hooray! She jumped up in victory; she had made it out of the danger zone unscathed! She was about to walk away when someone stumbled out after her.

"Hermione wait!"

She turned around and was surprised to see Ron coming towards her. She tilted her head to the side and frowned; noting just how gangly he looked when he ran. Draco definitely did not look that gangly.

He slowed down and approached her, "Heeyyy," he breathed and ran a hand unsteadily threw his hair. She contained a cringe at the foulness of his breath, Yep. He was definitely three sheets to the wind.

She decided instead on a closemouthed smile and swayed her arms a little feeling strange. What did Ron want? Did he forget something? Because all she wanted to do now was curl up in her warm bed and go to sleep.

"Listen," His ears became very red and he was suddenly interested in the ground, "I just wanted to tell you that," she felt her forehead furrow, "You know, since it's like Valentine's Day and all," her eyes widened in horror, "That, I don't want you to be my girlfriend or wife or anything, but,"

She tried to back away, but didn't have enough time; she had been completely unprepared for something like this. She had been so wrapped up in thinking about Draco that she hadn't even considered over-analyzing her recent encounters with Ron!

He grabbed her shoulders and yanked her to him. And then his mouth hit hers like two cars colliding painfully on the motorway and it was wet and bad and she just wanted it to stop so she could leave and wash her mouth out with soap.

He pulled back and licked his lips very unattractively. Oh my god, she could barely contain another cringe, I cannot believe he just did that. She had to say something,

"Gee Ron," she began, "I never knew you felt like that."

He shuffled his feet, "Uhh…OK. I guess I do."

She felt like laughing at him. He guessed he did? Was he serious? Was he secretly only nine years old or something?

"Maybe we could go to Hogsmeade sometime," he added, "If you want?"

She felt her heart constrict, "I don't know," she was shaking her head, she didn't know what the say, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings "I-um-there's-"

He looked her straight in the eye, "Is there somebody else?"

Hermione felt bathed in spotlight. Cameras blinking and flashing, microphones shoved at her face, yelling, screaming, DEMANDING. Miss Granger! Miss Granger! Is there somebody else? Tell us! Do you like somebody else?! It was upon her, the thing she had been dreading, the question that she had successfully avoided all weekend, all week, almost two months long.

She stepped back and pushed the mob of paparazzi as far away from her mind as possible, "Of course not!" she exclaimed cheerily, "I would love to go to Hogsmeade with you." Inside her heart was seething at her. Liar, liar pants on fire.

He nodded, "Cool," then moved towards her. She backed up abruptly and he looked hurt, "It's just," she said hastily, "Next time," she whispered.

"Oh," he grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. Oh dear. She waved stiffly and quickly turned away. She heard the portrait hole shut behind her and couldn't help but let out a loud bark of laughter. Of all the people she had thought she would be kissing on Valentine's Day, Ron Weasley was certainly the last.

Hermione strolled slowly to the Head Common Room, her head buzzing with her recent encounter, and stopped to stare at the portrait hole somberly.

She sunk down against the wall beside the entrance and hugged her knees; maybe she'd give herself just a few more minutes.

OK, so Ron was a nice guy. He was…fairly funny, sort of alright at Quidditch…he did kind of decent in school…he…he had a really large family? Oh bother, this was getting pretty difficult. She let her head fall back against the cool marble and closed her eyes. Ron was nice, and they had been friends for a really long time, and he did like her back. But-but…she let her gaze linger on the portrait.

That kiss. It just was-it just wasn't-he just wasn't-

The portrait swung open-

Draco.

He looked down at her, "Hermione?" his face lit up and he looked surprised to see her. She could feel that insanely goofy smile molding uncontrollably onto her features again, "What are you doing here?"

She giggled in spite of herself and stood up, "I was tired."

He looked suspicious and the torchlight spread delightful shadows over his handsome features, "Tired…right. After all of the partying eh?"

She shrugged, "Sort of, I haven't really been doing much partying."

He raised his eyebrows and she snorted, as if he was surprised to hear that. "Oh?" he said, and then broke into laughter which she quickly joined. "I'm sorry," he choked out, "I just couldn't help it."

"No!" she clutched her sides, "S'alright, the image of me," she broke down again and he noticed her extremely flushed cheeks glowing in the light. He reached out to brush his hand across one,

"Then again," he stopped laughing and gave her a hard look.

She rolled her eyes, "OK so maybe I had a little wine," she smiled, because even Ginny didn't know everything.

"Hermione!" Draco exclaimed and then ran his thumb along her jaw, "I always knew you were wild," he said softly.

She swallowed, "You, you did?"

He nodded. And then it all came flooding upon her; the walking, the talking, the joking, the showering, the struggling, the sleepless nights, the hair, the eyes, the shoulders, the voice, the sincerity, the patience, the strength, the firmness, the intelligence, body, the charm, the temper, the touch.

Her goofy smile was out in all its insane glory now and Draco was beaming back at her.

Hermione Granger knew exactly what she wanted now.

This. Right here. This was the moment. This was the moment and the Valentine's Day and the time and the night and the boy…not awkward, not dishonest, not forced, not bad… but this. This was exactly how she wanted it to be.

And it was unavoidable really, she reasoned with herself, they were stuck in this excruciating, torturous dance of tension and sooner or later, someone was going to have to do something about it.

"Happy Valentine's Day Hermione," Malfoy whispered, slipping his arms around her waist.

"Happy Valentine's Day Draco," she whispered back, before-

Finally. Capturing his lips with her own.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Basic Instincts

Whoa.

The word zipped around Hermione's head like a blaring billboard in Las Vegas.

Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa

His hands were everywhere; her hair, her neck, her back, her stomach, her breasts, her arms, thighs, cheeks…

And she battled with him scandalously trying to run her hands over every drool-inducing inch of him that she had been admiring for months. Those arms, that chest, those lips, hands, ass, hips, searching the wide expanses of his back, caressing his abdomen, running her fingers through that God Damn Hair!

"Mmm," he made a noise and pulled back. She searched his eyes for an explanation,

"Inside?" he panted, raising his eyebrows at his halfway unbuttoned shirt.

She kissed him fiercely and nodded, "Good idea."

She felt that trademark smirk of his form against her lips as he hoisted her up with ease and carried her inside and to the couch.

He lay her down gently and for a moment, just stared at her. Her wide, sparkling brown eyes, her hair fanned out softly around her, the creamy skin on her neck…

"Damn," he breathed.

Hermione responded by grabbing his collar and tugging him down to her.

"Why?" she whispered in between kisses,

"Didn't – We – Do this – Sooner?"

Draco lifted his head and grinned, "Why Miss Granger?" he nipped at her neck, "Are you enjoying it?"

She moaned into his hair.

"Should I say I told you so now?" he trailed kisses along her collarbone, "Or later," he moved to the swell of her bosom.

"Whenever," she sighed into his hair.

He pulled back, "What? No fighting retort?"

She narrowed her eyes, "Well you are making it quit difficult!"

He grinned wolfishly and went back to working on her neck-

Then, quite suddenly, Hermione began laughing hysterically. Malfoy groaned, "You've got to be kidding me, we're finally getting down to it and you're…laughing!?"

"It's just-" she clutched at her sides, "I'm sorry it's just that-" She took a deep breath, "Something happened tonight that you should know about."

Instantly, Draco's demeanour became stoic and wary and he sat up, removing himself from his comfortable position lying across Hermione.

Her forehead pinched adorably in slight alarm as she reached up to him, "Draco, it's nothing to get worked up over, I thought you'd find it funny."

His shoulders stiffened, "I know, just tell me."

She sat up too and fought the urge to reach out and touch him. Could she do that yet? Was it allowed? Hermione fought the instinct and sat on her frisky hand instead.

"Ron kissed me." She gazed at him reproachfully and he crossed his arms,

"And?" he prompted.

"And I didn't like it."

He chuckled vacantly, "So what? You thought you'd come to your 'old, pal Draco,' to have your needs me then? After a crap snog?"

A deep flush crawled up Hermione's neck, "How could you?" Her tone was sharp, though her eyes shone with hurt, "I kissed you tonight because I wanted to! How could you even think I'd use you like that? Or for that purpose?"

He turned away from her and set his feet firmly on the floor, "I dunno Hermione, there are a lot of things that have been confusing me about this situation lately. Like, what, exactly, are we doing here?"

"Doing?" her eyes bulged, "Maybe I got the wrong impression Malfoy, but I thought this was what you wanted?"

He avoided her pointed stare, "Yeah, but is it what you wanted?"

"I already told you YES!"

"No, no not the snogging," he shooed her thought away, "I mean is this all you want? You snog me on the side, but see Weasley out in public?"

She laughed smarmily, "Crikey Draco, of course I don't want to do anything with Ron! Haven't you noticed I've been spending all of my time with a certain, blond, someone lately?"

"Not this weekend!"

She jumped up, "Excuse me? Can you say 'decorations?'"

He flew up to meet her, "Can you say, 'Valentine's Day avoidance?'"

"I-I," she faltered for a second, "Well what do you call this then?"

He checked his watch with an expression of mock surprise, "Gee, what do you know? Almost midnight. Glad you could squeeze me in for the last ten minutes."

Draco was breathing so heavily that he didn't realize that Hermione had sat down. There was no other way to describe her expression than crumpled. He felt a wave of guilt and self-loathing wash over him. What on Earth was he doing?

He sat down and hesitated to put an arm around her. Was it too soon? He put his arm back down.

"Hey," he began softly, "I'm sorry, I am acting like a complete pig-headed, jealous, frightened prat-"

"I'm scared," Hermione interjected staring down at her clasped hands imploringly, "And I've been scared all weekend. I didn't know what I wanted or what I should want," She swiped at a tear that slipped out, "And I didn't have anyone to talk to," she rushed on while he gently began to stroke her hair, "And so when Ron did that, out of the blue and everything, I finally knew you know and-" she angrily swiped again at another offending tear and cursed the fact that she was full-on blubbering now. God, why did she have to feel like such a baby?

"And I know it's stupid and everything, but there you were and my doubts disappeared and FINALLY, for the first time in a long time I felt...sure" His arm was around her and he pulled her close, "And-and-I-"

"Shh," he breathed into her hair, "I know. I know."

"But I'm still scared," she hiccoughed, "And I probably will be for a very long time. I mean this," she sniffled and breathed deeply, "Is crazy."

"Completely," he nodded and she felt herself loosen under the delightful movements of his deft fingers on her shoulders.

Her eyes drifted closed, "And it will take me a long time for me to get used to this."

"Mm Hmm."

"For instance, what will everyone think?"

"Exactly," he was now nuzzling her neck.

"What if I'm banished or something?"

"For sure."

Hermione paused and cracked an eye open. Was he even listening to her? She grinned evilly,

"And what will my boyfriend Ron Weasley think when he hears the news?"

"Yea-WHAT!?"

She sat up and looked fierce with triumph, "Ah-ha!" She pointed accusingly at him, "You just want to get into my pants!"

He shrugged unabashedly, "Well, now that there is competition-"

"Draco Malfoy!"

He grinned and put up his hands, "Look Hermione, you just need to relax. I know you have this irritating need to rethink and overanalyze every, single situation you've come across, but – look where it's go you? One weekend of wasted worrying when you could've been doing something you really enjoyed." He stared firmly into her unsettled eyes, "You're a smart girl Hermione, sometimes too much for your own good, but you just need to trust your instincts and…" He pointed vaguely to the horizon outside, "Go with it."

She sighed and leant her head on his shoulder, "You make it sound so easy."

He smiled, "Because it is. For instance, my gut instinct is that I really, really like you and that I'm going to for a long time. So I'm putting my every effort into having you."

He held onto one of her hands, "Now, you try."

He caught a hint of naughtiness flicker from deep within her. His voice became husky, "Oh, I think I'm going to like this one."

Then, she jerked her hands away and stood. Panic flared in his chest. Wait. What was she doing? She started to walk away and his mouth hung open in shock. Where was she going?

Hermione was halfway to her room now, "Oh," she sang out sweetly, "I'm not so sure about that Draco. Because my instinct was to say," she fluttered her eyelashes, "Goodnight." Then she snapped the door closed, disappearing behind it.

Draco fell back against the couch and laughed at his own stupidity. "Follow your instincts." Had he actually believed that Hermione would fall for something that lame?

Despite the fact, a wide smile graced his handsome features and he stretched out contentedly. She had kissed him; she had come to him… He glanced at her door and scowled half-heartedly, and damn it to hell if she wasn't even better than he remembered. Yes, Hermione Granger had Draco Malfoy wrapped around her pretty, little finger.

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Hermione awoke that morning in a haze, wondering if the night before had all been one terrifyingly realistic dream. Had she really kissed Draco? For real? And if so, what was she supposed to do now? Were they dating? Would he try to embrace her in public? Would he even still care?

Hermione reflected happily on his intense gaze, on his countless assurances of his affection, and felt a little more blood reach her legs. He did like her, he must, she was sure of it.

Still wanting to pull out all the stops, Hermione let her hair fall full and wild down her back, spritzed on her favourite perfume, and even put on mascara and lip gloss.

She felt emboldened with the new awareness and power of her body that romance had awakened within her, and when she entered their tiny kitchen that morning it was with a liberating surge of self-confidence.

She was Hermione Jean Granger, and she was sexy and desirable damnit, but also staggeringly intelligent, compassionate, and brave too. She felt like giving herself the biggest and most overdue hug in the world; why had she wasted all of that time doubting herself in the past?

Suddenly, she walked straight into Draco's sizeable chest and blushed in an uncharacteristically girly manner. She just couldn't wipe the goofy grin from her face when he was around!

"Oops, I'm sorry-"

"No, no," he placed warm, steadying hands on her shoulders, "It was my fault entirely…you look radiant this morning."

Hermione beamed up at him, "Just had the instinct today would be worth it, is all."

He laughed and caressed a strand of her hair absentmindedly, beside himself that their morning intimacy and banter came so naturally.

"Glad to hear you're taking my advice."

She busied herself with fixing them tea, "I figured it was about time that I should."

"Here," he expertly pressed himself against her from behind, "Let me get that."

And before she knew it his lips were moving against hers and sparks shot skyward beneath her eyelids, leaving any and all hope for intelligent thought behind. Hermione wondered dreamily if she would ever get used to this.

Dismayingly, he pulled away. "Sorry," he whispered, "Instincts."

"Right," her eyes blinked open dazedly, "Those damned things."

He winked at her, "Walk me to class?"

Hermione felt her heart jolt and quickly looked away to hide her alarm. Were they really going to…reveal themselves so prematurely? They hadn't even been…well whatever they were for more than twenty-four hours. The thought of Draco might be vomit-inducing again by tomorrow for all she knew.

He sighed and stroked her cheek, "Maybe later…"

But the look on his face now was enough to make her heart break.

"No!" She interjected, "I'll walk with you, I'd- I would love to."

But Draco had seen her discomfort and he had understood. Whatever they were, he wasn't going to be proclaiming his love for all of Hogwarts to hear from the Astronomy Tower any time soon. Hermione may have finally admitted her feelings to him, but it was obvious she was far more afraid of revealing herself to Harry, Ginny, and Ron. Especially Ron, he recalled darkly.

However, he could take it slow for Hermione, he had to.

Hermione stared at Draco resolutely; she could compose herself around him outside of their Common Room…she had to.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Ginny sat staring open-mouthed at her best friend as she sat down across from her.

"Blimey Hermione," she breathed, "You look fantastic."

Hermione modestly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and reached for a ruby red apple, "Thanks Gin. You look great too…considering." Ginny rolled her eyes as her friend alluded to her incredibly wild weekend.

"OK," Ginny admitted, "So things got a little crazy, but – all's fair in love and war right?"

Hermione gasped, "No!"

Ginny squealed with unsuppressed joy, "Yes! Finally, one of us had a happy Valentine's Day."

Hermione's eyes darted to Draco and back again. "Yes," she agreed, "Finally."

Ginny opened her mouth to continue but Hermione, feeling nervously that she knew just what her friend was going to say next, wisely changed the subject.

"So where are our two favourite boys this morning?"

Ginny guffawed, "Wouldn't you know it, they're both stuck in bed the pair of lazy bums. It seems they're not quite as apt at recovering as the fairer sex."

Both Hermione and Ginny tittered companionably though Hermione could now feel Draco's heated gaze beaming down on her. She had to use all of her will power not to look back.

That was when she noticed her red-headed friend purposely avoiding her inquiring eyes, "Ron seemed fairly happy last night too..." Ginny began.

Hermione felt a huge, great knot of fear grip her as understanding to Ginny's tactful avoidance came to light. She hadn't even considered the thought that Ron would share his news, especially romantic news, with his sister.

She suddenly felt like she had lost a very vital confidante; Ginny was the only other person who knew of her involvement with Draco...and even with as close of friends as she knew they were, she also knew that Ginny would not turn her back on her brother.

"Did he?" Hermione ventured warily, "I-well-uh," her eyes traitorously met Draco's, "Oh."

Ginny continued to avert her gaze, "Look Hermione, I'm not going to pass judgement or-or get involved at all in the matter just..." she prodded her pineapple, "Just don't hurt him and be straight with him. I think you owe my brother that much."

Hermione gulped, "I don't want to hurt him."

Ginny was looking at her now, eyes flickering dangerously, "Then don't."

Hermione nodded politely, sensing that this discussion was over. She put another apple into her bag and plucked up a piece of toast,

"I'll see you later today Ginny, I've got to head to the library before class."

Ginny smiled amicably, all animosity from their former conversation forgotten. "Sure thing. S'later."

Shit, Hermione cursed as she made her way out of the sunny Entrance Hall, just shit. This was exactly what she didn't need right now. As if it wasn't going to be hard enough ignoring her womanly urges towards Draco during lessons...now she would have to worry about both Ron and Ginny breathing down her neck.

On top of that, in what possible manner could she reject Ron without hurting his feelings? Especially if she was going to be honest with him as Ginny suggested. She could just imagine that laugh of a conversation,

"Oh hello Ron?"

"Yes lovely?"

"Just thought I'd mention that I definitely cannot go to Hogsmeade with you or be involved with you whatsoever because I'm seeing Draco Malfoy."

"As in Draco Malfoy my mortal enemy? How very interesting, thank you for bringing it to my attention. Cheers!"

She glumly pushed open the library door and sat down in her customary, secluded spot by a tall window overlooking the lake and a sliver of the Forbidden Forest. She wished she could fall for someone easy and convenient like Ginny did with Harry, it was so easy for her to reach out and snog him to her heart's content. Not to mention acceptable...

Hermione heard the door click open behind her and nibbled on her toast.

"Bad breakfast with the red-head?"

Hermione grunted and shrugged her shoulders.

"I noticed you couldn't take your eyes off of me,"

She narrowed said eyes at him, but it was only a half-hearted gesture.

Draco casually slung an arm around the back of her chair, "Can't say that I blame you, I found myself in the very same conundrum."

She felt a smile tug at her mouth and nudged him, "Stop it."

He nudged her back, "You know you love it."

She opened her mouth in indignation, "I do not!"

He grinned, "We both know you're a pitiful liar."

"And we both know you're a shameless flirt!"

He ran a hand down her bare arm, "Feeling better yet?"

She stopped, caught up in the realization of just how sweet a guy Draco Malfoy could be.

"Yes," she finally answered tenderly, not fighting the urge to gently touch his lips with her own.

"NO FILANDERING IN THE LIBRARY!" A frightening voice scolded, forcing them to break apart at once. It was Madam Pince, and Hermione had to bite back a bark of laughter upon seeing the outrageously stupefied expression on her face.

"Mr Malfoy...Miss," the librarian's voice wavered, "Miss Granger. I am shocked and appalled to find you both disobeying rules in my library. And as Head Girl and Boy no less! And-" But she seemed unable to go on, still stuck on the absurdity of finding these two specific students embracing each other.

"Leave," she abruptly ordered, "At once."

Hermione moved to pick up her bag, but Draco had already slung it over his shoulder. She felt herself blushing again.

Madam Pince observed them in amazement as they weaved their way out of the library and strained her ears when the Malfoy boy began to speak,

"It looks like you'll get to walk me to class after all," He waggled his eyebrows playfully at the Granger girl.

She giggled and looked a tad flustered, "Yes well," She looked down at her twisting hands, "I did say that I would."

As the door closed behind them, even the relentless Madam Pince could not help but look on in wonder. She had almost never taken any interest in the happenings of the students or the latest gossip – but this, she shook her head in disbelief, this was one Hogwarts couple she would remember forever.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

It was Friday and Draco Malfoy didn't know how much longer he could stand it.

He'd managed to bite the bullet all week by sitting with fellow Slytherins, throwing himself into his work, and at the most desperate times confounding himself, but this was just too much.

They were in Transfiguration, his third torturous lesson not being able to touch Hermione that day, and it was turning out to be the worst one yet. Draco was forced to sit directly behind her, after rashly claiming that seat on his first day back, and as a result he didn't even have the relief of putting a few feet of distance and earshot between him and his object of desire.

She, however, seemed oblivious to it all, laughing contentedly with her beloved Gryffindor bodyguards and making impressive flashes of colour emit from her wand. Draco could deal with that. He knew who her friends were before he got into this and he was familiar with their absolute enrapture with each other when they were together. There was only one thing Draco could not deal with:

Weasley.

He kept looking at her...like-like she was actually his or something equally as preposterous. The stupid git was fantasizing about Hermione, Malfoy could tell, and it made him absolutely insane with jealousy. How dare that filthy, poor, witless oaf even dream that he'd have a chance with a girl as wonderful as that?

Hermione was his, Draco thought in an unfamiliar whoosh of possessiveness, and he wished he could let Ron Weasley know it. Malfoy's fist clenched; the bastard was now reaching out and softly touching Hermione's knee, giving Malfoy the undeniable instinct to pummel him.

Hermione, as if sensing the mounting tension of the situation, quickly acted to disarm it. She hit Ron with a Jelly Legs jinx sending him sliding down out of his desk and onto the floor. She covered her mouth in mock horror as Draco joined in laughing with the rest of the Slytherins,

"Ron!" She looked to Harry helplessly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that! Harry can you get him up? I'm afraid I'm not strong enough to lift him."

As Harry bent down to tend to Ron, Hermione hissed at Draco out of the corner of her mouth,

"Could you keep the testosterone down to a dull roar please?"

"Why don't you tell your pal Weasley to watch where he lays his grubby paws?"

Her eyes flashed with anger, "Watch it Draco."

Ron was back up and dusting himself off as McGonagall managed to get the class reasonably refocused on their assignment.

"Bloody Hell Hermione," Ron grinned sheepishly in her direction, "Hope you don't get too wand happy with me in Hogsmeade this weekend.

"Hogsmeade," Hermione heard Draco's sharp intake of breath behind her and she turned a horrified face on Ron. What the hell was wrong with him?

"Ron," she leant closer to him, the effort to smile politely losing fantastically to her instinct to clock him on the nose, "I never said I'd go to Hogsmeade with you this weekend-"

"Yes but," he went on, far too loud for her liking, "You promised that you'd go with me. You said that you would-"

"Ron," Hermione wondered how believable it would be if she fired a curse at him accidentally a second time, "Not now."

"But you said-"

"Ron!"

"Hermione!" She felt Draco stand up behind her. Oh God, how much more complicated could this get?

"Malfoy." Great, now Harry had drawn his wand.

"Potter," Draco followed suit.

"Ferret."

Hermione covered her face with her hands. Did Ron always have to be so tactless? She peeked through her fingers only to discover that McGonagall had her back to them. Never before had she wanted a teacher to actually catch them breaking the rules.

The boys' glares had increased tenfold and Hermione watched the flutter of other students taking notice.

"Boys!" she whispered urgently, "Please, put down your wands and forget it!"

"Sorry," Draco answered her first, "Instinct."

She turned her brown eyes on him, begging him wordlessly to stand back and think it through. She wanted to let him know that rash action wasn't always best, that sometimes it was better to ponder furiously and overanalyze situations like she was so fond of doing. One couldn't rush head first into things all of the time!

"Why I'd like to hex you into the ground," Harry growled and Malfoy sneered,

"Please Potter, you'd probably just send an Expelliarmus at me-"

"You'll regret that Malfoy!" Ron's ears reddened, "Con-"

"Stupefy!" Malfoy yelled, hitting him straight in the chest with an expertly aimed spell. He couldn't help smiling smugly over at Hermione; boy did he feel loads better now.

Hermione, however, looked anything but impressed. Was it his imagination or did she seem to be edging closer to Potter as McGonagall stomped furiously towards them.

"Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger, and Mr Potter! What is going on here? Duelling! In my classroom!" Her nostrils flared, her lips thinned, and she pointed her wand at Ron to revive him,

"It was a silly misunderstanding," Hermione started, trying her best to soften the blow for both Draco and her friends, "We didn't mean for it to get this out of hand Professor..."

Draco nodded, "Yes, it was very irresponsible and disrespectful of us Professor."

He looked at Harry to continue and support their pleads of innocence, but he merely glared at Draco heatedly.

"Mr Potter," McGonagall rounded on Harry, "Go to my office with Mr Weasley and I shall deal with you there. As for the Heads," both Draco and Hermione shrunk slightly under her razor-sharp gaze, "You will wait for me in your Common Room. I will deal with you later."

The four slunk out of the classroom slowly, not before both Harry and Ron had purposely bumped into Malfoy, and then split to go their separate ways.

Hermione felt her heart being tugged in three different directions. She loved Harry and sympathized with his quick temper when it came to Malfoy. He had, after all, been the cruel Slytherin who had taunted both him and Hermione for the past six years...and Ron, how would he know any better? He was always jumping to her defence and now with this new...angle in their relationship it was only bound to make him more stubborn and protective.

Then there was Malfoy, her eyes narrowed at the thought of the man now striding alongside her...who seemed for some reason, a little harder for her to forgive than the other two. She had only just decided to take their relationship to the next level and he knew that she wasn't ready to tell her friends about them yet and she had told him that Ron was interested in her. OK, she didn't quite mention that she'd sort of, kind of agreed to go on a date with him to Hogsmeade, but – but she was going to deal with that! She didn't plan on cheating on Draco or anything it was just – Hermione sighed; Ginny was right. She couldn't live with herself if she hurt her best friend's feelings.

"That was certainly interesting," Draco said arrogantly from beside her and it made her blood boil. He was still just as egotistical and self-centered as ever, what had she been thinking charging into a relationship with someone like him?

"Yeah," she laughed maliciously, "Sort of like déjà vu...wouldn't you say?" She knew she was being callous, rude, and cruel, but she couldn't help it. Falling back into their old bickering routine had become second nature to her.

They'd reached the portrait and he stuck an arm out to block her from entering.

"Hermione I-" she tried to ignore the twinge of sadness in her chest and remain angry, "That's not what I meant," Draco went on, "I'm not trying to insult them or say I'm better than them or anything like that."

"Really," she fought to keep her tone venomous, "Because that's exactly what it looked like to me"

Now Draco's temperature rose, "Hermione, he was drooling all over you. What was I supposed to do?" He willed himself to remain calm and keep his voice down.

"His actions gave you no right to stun him."

"Oh, and I suppose your 'pity' gives you the right to go on a date with him! Were you even planning on telling me about Hogsmeade?"

Her cheeks flared, Hermione's shame at her own actions only fuelling the fire, "I'm not doing this," she pushed past him, "Not with you. What do I owe you? Nothing."

Draco reeled and stormed after her, "What the hell are you saying here Hermione? C'mon, just spit it out, I can take it. I'm not a pansy like you're beloved Weasel!"

She flew around; her eyes wild, her hair massive, and her heart constricting unbearably with each word they spoke, "Maybe I'm saying it was a mistake to make the first move! Maybe I'm saying that I actually will go with Ron to Hogsmeade!"

Draco looked at Hermione liked she'd just cut out his heart and eaten it. She told herself to stay strong, that this was for the best, that they had rushed things, and that her sudden urge to vomit was nothing more than a bit of innocent food poisoning from her chicken at lunch.

Malfoy stumbled unsteadily away from her and held onto the couch for support. This could not be happening. They had just gotten started and she'd finally given him a chance and now he might've ruined it all. He looked back at Hermione and winced under the ferocity of her glare; he didn't see how she would ever forgive him. And even though Draco knew he too should feel angry about Hermione's hidden date with Ron, he was too miserable at the moment to work up enough emotion for anything as pointless as rage.

He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come.

Hermione felt an apology itch to form on the tip of her tongue, but her throat had gone incredibly dry.

She half-expected the room to implode under the monumental pressure of the Common Room's tension, but it only remained eerily silent. They both did not know where to go from here, didn't know how to deal with the whiplash of kissing happily just that morning to rearing back into one of their brutal fights by the afternoon. Because this one, Hermione realized numbly, was far worse than all the rest.

McGonagall's knock on the door echoed loudly across the room's wide expanses and both Hermione and Malfoy seated themselves on the couch. Silently and far apart. She attempted to raise her chin, straighten her shoulders, and ignore the boy whose future had become so inextricably tangled with her own.

While watching McGonagall swoop into the room Hermione thought darkly of instincts, urges, desires, and prophecies; their ability to render those without self-control senseless...and to leave them hanging alone and burned.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Hogsmeade

The first week had passed in silence; complete silence.

Hermione wrapped her wool, crimson scarf around her neck and shoulders and pulled on her heaviest school cloak. Although March had finally arrived, this morning's trip to the green houses did not have her amused. The temperature was still decidedly chilly.

Of course, she and Malfoy had managed to break their stubborn bout of quiet when absolutely necessary. When assigned as partners in class for instance or during their last two weekly Heads Meetings. Hermione could not rid herself of the feeling, however, that she and Malfoy had not hid their hostility all that well. It riled her at the thought, but she could swear she heard McGonagall mumble something along the lines of finding the pair, "Back to normal," as the Headmaster and other professors made their ways out last Saturday.

Though, she'd be right.

After that meeting things seemed to pitch perilously backward, back to before Malfoy had disappeared, back to when none of this had happened. Back to the night before January 1st.

They bickered, and oh how ruthlessly. Portraits shook on the walls, mugs slipped and chipped on the tile, and the ceiling trembled. For almost five days straight they'd been at each other's throats, and only about the most inane, irritating, and superfluous things. Ron's name was never mentioned and Draco'd focus most of his insults and taunts on her hair or weekend attire. She, in turn, scathingly disassembled his personality, his lack of morals, and his cavalier attitude.

Although last night she'd made a mistake. They had been arguing about each other's ineptitudes at correctly slicing billyroot in Potions when she exclaimed with disgust that his idiocy was irreversible, probably written in the stars and that he could call Trelawney to confirm it if he so pleased.

Hermione's heartbeat spiked when Malfoy's retort did not come. Surely it wasn't something she said?

Then it hit her; stars, prediction, Prophecy, the weight of her stupidity bringing with it the realization that this was nothing like their old spats at all. Never before were things off limits, never before did she have to force herself to avoid eye contact, and never before had she not meant every insult she sent at him.

She tightened her scarf and grimaced, admitting weakly to herself that yesterday she hadn't meant a word she'd said. Not a one. Not at all.

But the worst part was, ever since their stupid fight after Transfiguration she'd been moping around like she'd been dumped. Which she hadn't you had to be dating in order to be dumped.

But if they had actually been dating, her temper flared, then it would have definitely been her not him doing the dumping. So there. But of course it didn't really matter at all because she was totally over it. Completely. Because Draco Malfoy Come ON. She'd always known it was impossible...she shouldn't even feel surprised.

She bit her lip and brushed at a stray piece of hair absently, thinking that she'd better make her way to Herbology or risk being late.

Yet of course, as bad luck would have it, she slammed straight into Draco-no Malfoy on her way out of the portrait. Memories flitted unsettlingly across her mind's eye as she recalled the last time she'd accidentally bumped into him...how it had ended with him taking her deliciously in his arms and...

She hastily steeled herself and moved away by several feet. Now, if only she could look him in the eye.

"Walk much?" She finally heard him strangle from somewhere in front of her.

Just look at him, just look at him, DO IT!

She slid her eyes up towards his face with an almost unbearable effort. All the breath was knocked from her when she saw Draco looking completely at a loss...just like she felt.

She began to panic, unable to tear her eyes away, mind racing a mile a minute. What was going on? Why couldn't she pull herself together? It was just Draco Malfoy!

Except, she heard herself release a sigh, he wasn't just Draco Malfoy anymore.

"Sorry," she spoke softly, "I'm just in a rush to get to the green houses and..." Her resolve abandoned her, "Just goodbye," and she scurried into the corridor, leaving him staring intently in her wake.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Ginny spotted Hermione looking extremely harried crossing the grounds and jogged to catch up with her,

"Oi you there! Speed walker!"

But to her dismay, Hermione charged on, seeming not to have heard her.

"I said you there! Hermione!"

Ginny watched in puzzlement as her friend leapt with fright and turned with a wary expression towards her. It made her a feel a bit better when Hermione's eyes brightened upon finding hers.

"Ginny," Hermione sounded unnaturally dull, like she had been for a while now, "It's good to see you. Are you heading towards Care of Magical Creatures?"

Ginny nodded and slung an arm around Hermione, "Yep. I brought my dragon hide gloves with me this time too, so I don't get burnt by those damned Blast Ended Skrewts."

Hermione wrinkled her nose, "Can't say I envy you for that, although I do miss seeing Hagrid every week."

There was a slight pause between the usually chatty pair as Hermione stared somewhat blankly into the sky. Ginny cleared her throat,

"I was actually wondering if you'd seen my brother lately, he said he was meeting up with you after breakfast."

"Mm?...Oh yes, I was supposed to meet him but I slept in. I didn't get to breakfast this morning," Ginny's concern peaked at Hermione's dazed tone.

"You? Sleeping in? That's definitely not normal, have you come down with stomach lurgy or the flu? What's been up with you lately?"

Hermione shrugged, "Nothing and I'm not sick. I feel fine." She sounded like she very much wanted Ginny to drop the subject.

But Ginny ploughed on, "But you're still coming to Hogsmeade tonight right? Because Ron has been looking forward to it for a very long time and you are sort of...together now so it would be kind of tacky to cancel this late and-"

"Gin," Hermione put up a hand, "Yes of course I'm coming to Hogsmeade, I wouldn't dream of standing Ron up he's..." She couldn't seem to find the right word, "Well I'll be there."

Ginny smiled rather wildly, "Fantastic! He's just so happy for it! Plus Harry and I cannot wait to double date with you two," she squeezed Hermione's arm, "I'll see you later then, and," she raised her eyebrows, "Try to take a...small nap or something before you go. You've been like this for almost two weeks!" Ginny then turned to her right and marched off towards Hagrid's hut.

Hermione couldn't even work up enough emotion to feel insulted as she wrapped her cloak more tightly around her and trotted on to Herbology. She would just have to work harder at ending Ginny's suspicions, because her friend definitely had nothing to be suspicious about! Ron was the man in her life now and she could not be happier for it; he was kind, funny, sensitive...well alright maybe not sensitive but he was becoming more familiar with the female mind...he was also not arrogant, belligerent, or self-serving in any fashion. Except of course in the kissing department, half of the time she didn't think he even realized she was there.

She heaved the door open to Green House number three and smiled wanly at Ron who had saved her a seat at his table with Harry and Neville. He pecked her cheek as soon as she sat down and ended up bumping her nose painfully,

"Sorry," he apologized as his ears flared red,

"No," she insisted through stinging eyes, waving him away from doing any more damage "No, it's nothing. No bother."

She felt Harry's tireless, scrutinizing gaze upon her and turned on her stool to face the opposite direction. Professor Sprout had just walked in with an armful of Venomous Tentacula and Hermione felt her dread set in even deeper. Oh the ides of March...her mind chorused drearily to her.

When, quite unexpectedly, she felt fingers caress tantalizingly up the side of her leg. Hermione started and spun around, staring wide-eyed for the culprit. Was it Ron? He sat looking at her with confusion. Hermione shook her head; Definitely Not. Harry? Hermione inwardly cringed; please god No. Sprout started her lecture, but Hermione continued to scan around the class for the guilty party.

Justin Finch-Fletchley? (AN: deffo don't know how to spell this name. Sorry) He sat there picking his nose; Nope. Neville? Hermione couldn't help releasing a chuckle; Yeah Right. But then who-

A flash of blond swaggered by and her heart froze. Surely not...surely he wouldn't dare...She watched him studiously as he seated himself with his usual Slytherin cronies and took notes pertaining to Professor Sprout's lecture. Not once did he look her way.

Hermione shook her head and started scribbling down notes with her quill like she should have been doing the entire time, trying fruitlessly to forget about what had just happened. She finally decided to ask Ron,

Ron, she scratched out on her parchment, Did you just touch me?

She slid the note over his way and watched his forehead furrow. He jotted something down and pushed the paper back towards her,

No why?

Hermione exhaled and set her quill down. Right, so it wasn't Ron. She picked her quill up again,

No reason, I must be hallucinating that's all. She watched Ron read it and raise his eyebrows, then he passed the parchment back to her,

Alright, but I really gotta focus on the lesson now.

Hermione scoffed to herself as she crumpled up the parchment and took out a clean sheet. Ron lecturing her on paying attention in class? The NERVE.

Then a breath of hot air seemed to blow up her skirt and Hermione nearly squealed. Who the bloody hell was doing that? She wrenched her head in every direction glaring at each boy her eyes encountered, oh how she'd make that troublemaker pay...

Then her eyes found Malfoy's. And he was staring straight back at her.

Hermione's expression turned mutinous and she hoped to god that he was practicing Occlumency on her. Draco Malfoy, she thought as hard as she could, Don't. You. Dare.

"But Hermione you know you like it," His voice seemed to whisper and taunt against the skin of her neck making her break out in goose bumps all over. Then she immediately felt infuriated; How the hell was he doing this?

She felt her blood pressure rise and the colour come back to her pallid complexion. Her hands burned to throttle him.

But what could she do in the middle of Herbology class? If she made a scene, everyone would know about...what happened. Her scowl darkened; oh he knew exactly what he was doing.

But then again, an evil grin formed on her features, so did she.

"Oh Ron," she turned towards her so-called boyfriend, dropping her quill down her shirt back, "Would you mind getting my quill out for me? I accidentally dropped it down the back of my shirt!" Her eyes shone with triumph as she watched Draco redden at the sight of Ron reaching up her back. He should know by know that two could play his games.

She turned around and fixed Ron with her most lusty gaze, "Thank you baby," Ron's eyebrows shot up to his hairline and his eyes shone with the promise of future rewards. Hermione felt a slight pang in her chest; it was almost too easy.

"Class!" Professor Sprout's voice broke into her train of thought, "Come pick up your Venomous Tentacula and begin."

Hermione hopped up from her stool and sashayed to the front of the classroom. She didn't need to turn around to know Malfoy was directly behind her.

"Nice try Granger," he whispered so only she could hear, "But you're going to have to do better than that to get at me."

She turned around to retort, but he'd already disappeared into the crowd of students and she found herself facing Ron instead. He was grinning almost lecherously,

"Hey Hermione...or should I say baby?" He waggled his eyebrows. Hermione held in a whimper and picked up a poisonous plant,

"Yeah, yes, baby..." She felt a magical hand creeping up her leg again and moved to swat it away; damn it Draco!

"I'll be at my seat," She expressed to Ron before pushing past him and walking purposely around the Slytherin table.

"Stop it you perverted fiend!" She hissed in Malfoy's ear as she passed. He just smirked down at his Tentacula in response.

Ron rejoined her at the table and they set to work on trying to re-pot the dangerous, biting thing. It struck quite a few times, twice narrowly missing Hermione, and when they finally pulled the last root out she was sweating with the effort. Making matters worse was the fact that her mind was now permanently stuck on Malfoy;

Like, just what was he playing at? Was he hitting on her? Didn't he know that she was with Ron now?

Ron's head was turned as hands suddenly and powerfully gripped her waist, as if in answer, pulling her body against his with a most palpable need,

"Yes I know," Draco's voice rumbled, "But I don't care."

He pulled away and she was most off put to find that her eyes had drifted closed of their own accord; Damn that Draco Malfoy!

"Hermione," It was Harry's voice.

"What!" Her eyes flew open to find him staring at her. Oh no, she panicked, he hadn't seen anything had he?

"Pass the spade would you?" He regarded her as if she'd gone mental.

"Oh yes!" She exclaimed, her heart about to beat out of her chest, "Here you go!" She passed it with insurmountable zeal towards him - then promptly snatched it back.

"On second thought," she stood up, "Why don't I just go get you one of your own?" But before he could answer she was tripping towards the front of the class and taking a slight detour to the right.

She pretended to drop her quill behind Malfoy's chair and bent to retrieve it,

"You're a philandering manwhore," she spat up at him, "I want nothing to do with you!"

He tossed a glove on the floor and crouched so that their heads were level,

"And you're a know-it-all, goody two shoes. Yes, I'm well aware of our differences Hermione, and yet I still want to apologize for my behaviour this week and make up with you."

"No!" She wanted to enunciate her point clearly, "I'm trying to tell you that I really want nothing to do with you! I am with Ron now."

"Then why," he raised a brow shrewdly, "Are you over here with me?"

She blushed furiously and snapped up. What a complete prick-

"Hermione!" She saw Ron waving to her from their table, eyeing Malfoy with unguarded hostility, "Haven't you gotten the extra spade yet?"

"Almost," she sang out through clenched teeth, ignoring the twinge of dread that came with his voice, "Just give me a minute."

She steered herself away from Malfoy and stopped at the unfamiliar poke of something against her side. She looked down and found a piece of folded parchment tucked neatly into the waist of her skirt. She looked back at the Slytherin table, but all of their heads were down and working diligently, so Hermione plucked the note out to inspect it.

Her necklace slid out into her palm.

See you in the Common Room it read.

"Hermione!" Ron called again.

She quickly dropped the note and the trinket from her shaking hands and into her skirt pocket;

"Coming."

Hermione tottered blindly back over to her table, trying desperately to ignore the divine spread of warmth in her body and chest that she hadn't felt for weeks. The necklace seemed to smoulder in her pocket as she tried to remind herself once again of the benefits of a life free from Draco Malfoy.

No stress for instance.

Then the words See you in the Common Room flashed before her and she almost wished for the Venomous Tentacule to gobble her up.

Ron smiled up at her and she sighed; it looked like Hermione had a date in the Common Room to end the thing that was never supposed to happen once and for all.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Five short hours later the portrait swung open and Hermione reshuffled the stack of papers in her perspiring hands, perusing the title The Follies of Lustover Love for the umpteenth time. In her spare hours after Transfiguration she had decided to prepare an argument for her dreaded meeting with Malfoy, lest he try to pull any of his earlier stunts from Herbology.

He sat down on the couch opposite her and she looked over her first line of notes:

Lust is irrational and distorts the mind; it has no bearing in emotion, but is entirely physical and unhealthy.

She grinned soberly; Well, Malfoy was definitely all of those things.

"You brought notes?" His eyes shone with amusement.

She narrowed her own, "Are you here to apologize or poke fun at me?"

"Both," his gaze locked with hers, "And more if I can manage it."

"Oh no," Hermione raised a finger threateningly and stood up, "This is why I had to bring notes, because I knew you would pull something like..." She moved her hands searchingly, "This."

He smirked, "What? Something incredibly irresistible?"

She put a hand on her hip, "No, something inappropriate. Which is why I composed a list about why this won't work..."

He raised an eyebrow, "Being?"

"Lust," she smiled proudly, "All we have between us is lust."

Draco's eyes seemed to scream that there was nothing wrong with that.

Hermione spluttered and hastily riffled through her papers,

"First, lust is a purely physical phenomenon and that is not the kind of relationship that I," she jabbed a finger at her chest, "Want. Second,"

Malfoy leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head.

"Lust bewitches the mind and makes one believe that the sparks of passion flying through their bodies," She leaned closer to her sheet to read the next bit, "Are actually something deeper," she swallowed, "Lust is possessing, lust is addicting and lust..." Why did her mouth feel so dry?

"Yes?" Draco leaned forward and the power in his stance made her tingly all over. Just get the list out, she told herself, Finish your argument and everything will be fine.

"Lust is only a chemical reaction in the brain and central nervous system..."

Was that Draco's hand snaking up her side? Or was she imagining things? Her breath was coming out in short puffs now,

"And lust has nothing to do with the," His lips had found their way to her bare shoulder, "With the-" Oh God her mind was going on holiday again, "With the heart."

He, unfortunately, then ceased all contact with her, "Like this you mean?"

She nodded emphatically, "Yes, exactly like this."

He seemed to get an idea, "So you're saying," He stalked towards her and she couldn't help but feel anxious, "That you are only drawn to me for sexual reasons?"

Her cheeks flamed in earnest, "No, I'm saying that lust and this," she motioned between them, "Is wrong. And illogical. It can't work."

He looked thoughtful, "Do you have written in your notes anywhere what can work then?"

"Of course," Hermione smiled with relief, thankful for the opening to resort back to her writing, "Relationships can only work when the two people involved are in love and," She made sure to stress the next part, "Have been good friends for a very long time. The pair need to be comfortable and honest with each other, traits which are borne out of years of close friendship."

She looked up. Malfoy's expression was unreadable, "Like you and Ron then?"

Hermione bristled, "Yes like Ron and I. Draco..." She inhaled deeply, "You and I we've got this chemistry between us but Ron...I've been best friends with him for so long now and I'm...we're good together."

"More like safe," Malfoy's eyes flashed.

"Hey!" she exclaimed angrily.

"Sorry," He raised his hands, "But I'm just trying to be honest about what I'm seeing here Hermione. Because it looks to me like you and Weasley are only good together because his sister likes it, it keeps the suspicious Potter from breathing down your neck 24/7, and you are scared out of your mind of breaking your best friend's heart."

Hermione timidly pulled her shirt collar back up over her shoulder, "Is it a bad thing that I'm loyal to my friends Malfoy?"

He shook his head, "Loyalty's not a bad thing Hermione only..." He ran a frazzled hand through his hair, as if afraid of offending her, "It becomes bad when that loyalty is hurtful and dishonest."

Hermione turned away from him and crossed her legs, "...Why is it so impossible to believe that I like Ron?"

Malfoy chuckled, "You look in pain when you're around him."

She snorted, "Well I'm literally in pain when I'm around you."

"Good thing there's nothing between us then," He smirked.

Hermione eyed him, "Yes," she said, "Good thing."

He smiled, "Would you look at the time? Hermione, you've got to get going or you'll be late!" He made a show of looking ridiculously frantic.

She sighed exasperatedly, "Haha Draco, now why are you acting so OK about this?"

"Can't I do anything without you being suspicious?"

She crossed her arms.

"Alright fine I'll tell you," Draco smiled boyishly and she felt her heart flutter, "But it's a secret and it'll have to be whispered into in your ear in order for you to hear it, you know, as in accordance to the Great Code of Secrets and all," his smile grew, "And it'll have to be whispered into your ear by me, the Great Secret Keeper."

She rolled her eyes, biting back her own smile, but allowing him to lean in towards her anyways.

"Because I know," she could almost taste the lips brushing against the sensitive skin of her earlobe, "You'll pick me."

Hermione moved back and eyed him intently, "Draco I," Damn, how should she say this? "I don't want to hurt you either."

He sat back down on the couch facing her, "It's alright, you already have."

She winced, "I know and I'm sorry for that, for not telling you about Ron asking me to Hogsmeade and everything...I knew that I should've told you."

He shrugged, "S'alright now I guess, seeing as we have been rather ruthless towards one another for the past couple of weeks. Plus, I shouldn't have lost my temper with the Gruesome Twosome that day in Transfiguration."

She smiled and felt a sort of lightness in her heart, "Thank you. That really means a lot to me, the apology and the acceptance...I haven't exactly been meriting much forgiveness these days."

He smiled back, "Your welcome, now stop being so hard on yourself."

Hermione laughed and stood up from the couch, "OK, but you know I'm still really going to Hogsmeade right?"

He nodded gently, "Yep, I've figured that out by now."

Her eyes glistened as she gave him one final glance, "You've become a very good friend to me Draco Malfoy," she finally said.

His gaze focused on his hands, but she could still make out the smile that remained on his lips, "And you to me Hermione Jean Granger."

Her heart grew faint, Jean, she noted almost achingly, She must've told it to him in the future...because not even Harry or Ron knew her much despised middle name, and then she frowned...that meant that Draco Malfoy, of all people, Draco Malfoy was the only person who sort of knew all of her. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Deciding to leave it on that note, she slowly walked towards the door and pulled on her cloak again, before slipping out to meet Ron at Gryffindor tower. Along her way in the hushed hallway, she fingered the thing around her neck, making her way down the marble staircase and wondering if Draco had noticed that she'd been wearing it.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

Only twenty minutes into their date and already things were not going as planned. First off, Harry and Ginny cancelled on them after insisting that they needed to call a last-minute Quidditch practice to make sure the team was in shape for the next big match against Slytherin. Hermione herself could not believe Ginny's sheer audacity at cancelling after having tortured Hermione about coming and hanging out only earlier that day and was thrown into a decidedly foul mood for the walk over.

Ron, meanwhile, was failing miserably at making conversation.

"So how 'bout those Canons eh?"

Hermione nodded her head dismally, "Yeah, how 'bout them."

He shoved his hands in his pockets, "You cold?"

She shook her head, "No I'm fine thanks."

They continued to walk on in silence.

Hermione tapped her hand against her leg, Yep, she told herself, This was the life. THIS was how true love feltNo banter, no fights, no extreme fits of passion, just companionable silence...wonderful.

"Jelly Bean?"

Hermione looked up at Ron, "What?"

He cleared his throat, "I asked if you wanted a jelly bean."

"Oh," Hermione shook her head, "No thank you."

They both heaved in great sighs of...something, agreeing telepathically that this was going to be one long night.

"Hey Ron!" They both looked up to see Lavender Brown waving cheerily towards them, "Are you coming to Puddifoot's?"

Hermione couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the way Ron's face seemed to light up at the sight of her, "Oh uh yeah. Maybe...dunno yet Lavender."

Lavender smiled and released a tinkling laugh, "Oh well, hope to see you there! It'll be a ball."

Hermione eyed Ron as Lavender walked on ahead of them, "So...you still talk to Lavender?"

Ron nodded brusquely, "Yeah, we decided to stay friends."

"Oh. How terribly," she paused, "Mature of you."

He shrugged, "Yeah its fine...listen would you mind going to Puddifoot's later? I know how you like that special pink hot chocolate there."

"Sure yeah," she made a non-committal gesture, "That sounds fine."

"Great," he took her mittened hand in his own and picked up the pace. Once they arrived, Ron took her around to all of their favourite Hogsmeade haunts; Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks, and even the Shrieking Shack. While it was enjoyable to visit all of their old spots, Hermione couldn't help noticing that it didn't really feel like a date at all, but more like it did when she, Ron, and Harry usually went to Hogsmeade together. Just...minus the Harry.

After a while of more silence, albeit companionable, Hermione suggested they make their way over to the tea house.

The welcoming sounds of laughter and chatter leaked out onto the street as they neared the much infamous Madame Puddifoot's, its sign coming into view and looking unsettlingly like an anvil. Admittedly, Hermione had hoped to avoid the place while with Ron, as it was a very notorious make out spot, but with the big group of people in there tonight she wasn't feeling quite as...in danger as she normally did around his mouth.

"Ron! Hermione!" Lavender exclaimed as soon as they'd pushed open the door, her cheeks obviously flushed with copious amounts of Butterbeer.

"Lavender hey," Ron said nonchalantly while Hermione nodded in greeting. The two seated themselves at the far end of a group of tables that had been smushed together. Almost all of their year was here!

Dean Thomas raised a mug of Butterbeer, accidentally sloshing some down his shirt, "To the happy couple," everyone followed suit, "Here, here!"

"Here here!"

"CHEERS!"

"OH-PAH!"

Hermione laughed in bewilderment as four mugs were passed down her and Ron's way and they both received a staggering amount of back slaps. It was amazing how chummy alcohol could make people...her thoughts unwillingly fell on Draco...Well, some people anyways.

"Hey everyone! What did we miss?" Hermione's head shot up to see a red faced Ginny and Harry burst through the door, the shop's old rusty sign hooks squealing in the distance.

"Ginny!" Hermione cried, "You're here?!"

Ginny beamed and pulled up a seat next to her, "You didn't think I'd actually miss our first double date did you? Didn't Ron tell you that we'd be coming later?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and helped Ginny untangle herself from her scarf, "Ron Weasley deliver a message properly? Yeah right."

Ginny laughed and took a huge slug of her butterbeer, "Yeah," she slurped, "I guess you're right...mmm this is so delicious after being out in that cold. Have you had much Hermione?"

"No," Hermione smiled, feeling much better now that her best friend was here, "We only just got here as well, Lavender invited us."

Ginny choked momentarily on her drink, "Lavender? As in Ron's ex-girlfriend Lavender?"

Hermione took a dainty sip of her butterbeer, "Mm hm, apparently they've remained friends."

Ginny's eyes narrowed.

"But I don't mind!" Hermione rushed, hoping she hadn't caused a tiff between the siblings, "He seemed really mature about the whole thing."

Ginny's eyes seemed to soften a bit and Hermione took a larger sip of her drink. An awkward silence fell between them and Hermione began to wish that Ginny hadn't shown up at all-

"Is that your necklace?"

"What?" Hermione's hand flew to her throat protectively as she stared gingerly back into Ginny's piercing gaze. Damnit, Hermione was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Ginny studying her outfit,

"I said is that your necklace, you know; the one that Malfoy gave you?"

"Malfoy didn't give it to me," Hermione recovered quickly; "I got it from my grandparents as a birthday present."

But then Hermione felt her temper flare involuntarily; after all of the crap she had been taking from Ginny lately, after all of the crapthat she had been going through lately, she wasn't about to back down or apologize about this. It was her necklace, she liked it, and she could wear it if she damn well pleased! And so what if Draco had sort of, kind of just returned it to her this morning?

"Oh," Ginny traced her finger around the rim of her mug, "Because I seem to remember that necklace having something to do with Draco Malfoy."

Hermione lowered her voice to a soft hiss, "Ginny, that was meant to stay between you and me. I'd appreciate it if you didn't announce my secrets in front of all of my classmates."

"Girls?" They both turned scowling faces towards Harry; he had already noticed something was up. "Something wrong?"

"No," Hermione immediately interjected, "We're just tired."

Ginny remained silent.

"Ginny?" He asked and Hermione's palms began to sweat. Oh god, oh god, oh god this could not be happening. Not here. Not now. Not in front of all these people! Not when she had just finally gotten over him!

"Yes Harry," Ginny answered in a loud and sombre tone, drawing the attention of several others including Ron, "Something is wrong, but it's not my place to tell you. You'll have to ask sweet, little Hermione over there."

Almost half of the tea house was staring at Hermione now, the ambiance completely changed, and she gulped.

"Hermione?" It was Ron; his eyes seemed to be preparing for the worst, "What is she talking about?"

"Yes Hermione," Ginny's eyebrows rose menacingly, "Do tell."

Hermione set her jaw firmly, "If Ginny thinks there's something to tell then she can be my guest," Hermione wasn't about to pour her heart out to the entire room, "I, however, have nothing of interest to say to you all."

Ginny, unfortunately, was not satisfied with this answer.

"I suppose the fact that Draco Malfoy was accidentally sent to the future wouldn't be of any interest to you all now would it?"

There was a collective gasp around the room. Hermione couldn't believe it.

She clenched her fists, "Ginny,"

"Or that," Ginny maliciously boomed on, oblivious to Hermione's silent pleas for mercy "Draco Malfoy met Hermione Granger in the future and that he knew her well...very well."

"Hermione!" Ron was now staring at her with burning eyes, "Is this true?"

Hermione felt the situation spin unforgivably out of control, "Ginny," she grabbed onto the red-head's arm frantically, "How can you betray my trust like this?"

Ginny's eyes were stone cold, "How can you betray my brother like this?"

"I'm not betraying him-Ron!" She turned wildly towards her boyfriend, "I haven't betrayed you! I promise!"

Yet she felt like she was witnessing the sinking of the Titanic; captivating in all of its destruction.

"Hermione," Ginny's eyes seemed to have regained some warmth, "All I asked was for you to be straight with him...and he doesn't know...he doesn't even know..." she shook her head, "I mean, it's obvious to me now that...but you really need to tell him, both of them...I didn't understand..."

Harry had stood and was pulling the two girls to their feet. Ron appeared too stunned to move.

"C'mon girls," said Harry wisely, "Let's take this outside." He also gave Ron a kick in the chair for good measure, which seemed to catch the red-head's attention as he too stood and followed them out into the frigid night.

Hermione felt hysterical. This was the one moment she had been dreading for the last two months...what was she supposed to do? Lie. That's what she wanted to do. Lie and protect them all from the truth because it would hurt them all too much: Harry because he hated Malfoy, Ron because he liked her, and Ginny because it would hurt her brother.

Then Hermione looked up and saw him, Draco, come out of a shop in the distance and stop when he caught sight of her, his blond hair glowing in the street lamps. He was definitely within hearing distance and she felt her resolve melt away...

Loyalty becomes bad when it is hurtful or dishonest.

What was she doing? She looked around at herself and her friends, What had she been doing for all this time? Lying and hiding from everyone; from her best friends!

She didn't deserve all of this stress from pretending to be someone she wasn't and Draco definitely didn't deserve all of the crap she'd put him through. So she took a deep breath and looked around at her circle of pals, it was now or never.

"OK I'm going to tell you everything," Hermione began, "But you've got to promise not to interrupt me because if you do, I'm not sure I'll manage to keep going," she took another deep breath as they all agreed, Madame Puddifoot's giant sign creaking noisily in the wind, "On New Year's Malfoy- no Draco grabbed onto my necklace," she lifted it up so they could see, "And was sent to the future. He discovered a lot of change there along with a Prophecy that had been made about the two of us...about the two of us ending up together...

"Somehow, he ended up becoming enamoured with the future me and ever since he's been intent on winning me over, which I'm sure you can see would be no easy task, " she sighed, "Also, I'm sure you've been noticing the different way he's been acting towards me lately," she looked up to see them hanging on her every word, "At first I didn't give care how differently he was treating me, he was still the same sieving Malfoy to me and nothing would ever change that...but then some stuff happened, and it called my judgement into question, and then I learned about where he'd been and freaked out over the things he knew about me and this-this Prophecy. It was ludicrous, it was insanity!" She began to pace,

"But he was so understanding and calm with me...totally the opposite of how I'd been. He became a person I leant on and who made me laugh, then we got to talking and he became my friend, and for a while..." She steeled herself for this one, "He became something more."

The cold breeze blew lightly on her face, "I didn't know how to tell either of you because I felt guilty and traitorous...and then this whole relationship happened with you Ron and the last thing I wanted to do in the world was hurt your feelings," she reached out for his hand, "I know I was wrong and I'm sorry if I ended up hurting you anyways...but I hope that you can forgive me," she looked at all of them, "That you can all forgive me?"

Breeze whistled through the dark alleyways.

"...I dunno Hermione," Harry spoke first, "How can you be sure he's trustworthy after everything he's put us through? Even with the slight change in attitude, he still seems to be a Slytherin through and through."

"Yeah," Ron agreed, purple-faced, "I mean we're Gryffindors and he's one of them. It's them versus us! You can't expect anything from his lot-"

Harry nodded, "Exactly! I mean," he made a face, "You and Malfoy? We're on different sides Hermione and sooner or later you'll have to pick yours because the two just don't mix."

She made a guttural noise of exasperation; God didn't they understand?! She was putting everything on the line here and they were both too stubborn and prejudice like the rest of them to notice that! She felt a dull roar build up in her chest and screamed,

"THERE DON'T HAVE TO BE SIDES!"

Only, she wasn't alone. Someone else had joined in with her voice, and that someone had been Draco.

He strode out of the shadows, "Not everything is black and white Potter, ever heard of a grey area?"

"Ever heard of Get Lost?" Ron had puffed up his chest and looked ridiculous.

But Draco didn't take the bait; he merely stood amongst them all. Ginny moved uncertainly,

"I think that's enough confession for one night, don't you guys? Why don't we just leave these two alone for now?"

"No!" Ron looked positively livid, "Ginny how could you even say a thing like that? You think I'm going to leave my girlfriend alone with him?"

"Excuse me!" Hermione exclaimed, "But since when do you get to dictate who I do or do not spend my time with Ron?"

"Hermione," Harry looked flabbergasted, "Don't tell me...there isn't still something going on between the two of you," he looked between her and Malfoy, "Is there?"

"I-we," she faltered, doing her best not to look at the man in question, "There was something going on like I said, but it's not anymore. It's over now."

Hermione noticed Ginny give her a strangely stricken look at that,

"So you still," Ginny spoke as if trying to understand a very difficult math equation, "You're saying that you still plan on dating my brother?"

"Well..." she began, seeing Ron's face fall and swearing she saw Malfoy smirk out of the corner of her eye, "Ron, maybe we should talk about this later?"

Ron's face was so red it looked like it was about it explode. Hermione paused,

"Ron are you-"

CRASH.

Hermione's heart thundered furiously as the street below her shuddered and something huge fell from overhead. She felt Draco push her to the side and landed with a thud on the slick cobblestone, covering her head with her arms. Screams echoed from the within the tea house and Hermione stood up gently as if in shock. Something bad had just happened...something very bad...

"Oh my God!" Someone shrieked and she stumbled towards the voice,

"What happened?" She demanded fiercely, glaring into the eyes of all her stunned peers.

"We," Lavender approached her looking ashen-faced, "We just heard a huge noise and ran out here," Hermione stared around at the unnaturally large pile of rubble that people had begun surrounding and shuddered.

"Is anybody hurt?" Somebody called and Hermione's brain seemed to come to.

"Draco!" Hermione screamed, sprinting towards the rubble, "Ginny? Ron? Harry! Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," Ginny and Harry emerged from behind a bench looking shaken, and Hermione felt her stomach drop out. They were OK, was it possible that the others were fine too?

"It looks like," Ginny's face had gone startlingly pale; "It looks like the sign for Madame Puddifoot's fell down."

A few girls squealed in horror and Hermione did her best to control her heart rate. If it beat any faster she would either black out or start seeing double.

"Are you guys alright?" Ron's lanky form came into view from a few feet away, wand in hand, "I..." He looked like he was going to be sick, "I didn't mean to shoot it off at the sign, honest, I just wanted the glob of snow to fall on his head."

Hermione was definitely seeing double now as an eerie silence filtered through the crowd.

Ron looked at her pleadingly, "Hermione?"

But Hermione was too busy. Because Hermione Jean Granger had never felt true terror until this moment.

All of those close calls with Voldemort, all of those duels against terribly evil wizards, all of those sleepless nights before massive examinations and projects – they were all nothing compared to this. Because the thought of him, the sheer notion- she clapped a hand over her mouth and dove towards the fallen sign.

"DRACO!" She screamed, clawing at the dirt and rubble, feeling all sense of sanity slip away from her, thinking that there was not one advantage to a life with no Malfoy in it, "DRACO!" Her scream echoed up the dark street.

He could not be gone, she kept chanting to herself as she dug and his shoulders came into view after her head, he just couldn't. It wasn't possible. It was impossible, it was an impossibility.

"What the hell are you all doing standing around?" She yelled shrilly at them all, her terror completely engulfing her as a few of the guys came towards her to help. Except they didn't help, they grabbed her firmly on the arms and hoisted her up. She struggled erratically against them,

"No! LET GO OF ME! PUT ME DOWN! I HAVE TO HELP HIM! I HAVE TO-" a moan of grief escaped her as memories of just that day in the Common Room filtered through her head, "PLEASE LET ME HELP HIM!"

Ginny was suddenly at her side and rubbing her back, "Ssh Hermione," she sounded so far away, "Someone's already notified Dumbledore. He told us not to move him until he arrives."

Hermione continued to struggle relentlessly, "NO!" She yelped painfully, "THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH! THAT WON'T BE ENOUGH TIME! JUST LET ME BE WITH HIM PLEASE! PLEASE, PLEASE JUST LET ME GO TO HIM!"

Tears were pouring down her cheeks and her lungs felt empty and raw. Hermione could not remember seeing Ginny looking so worried in her whole life and more snippets of the Common Room and Draco drove through her mind.

Draco when she'd first met him, how he'd taunted her, Draco when he'd called her a Mudblood, Draco when she'd slapped him, Draco at the Yule Ball, Draco being brainwashed by his parents, Draco crying in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Draco with his Head Boy badge, Draco in front of that fireplace, Draco making grilled cheese, Draco tying his shoe, Draco's smile, Draco's touch, Draco in the bath with her, Draco's humour, Draco's temper, Draco telling her the truth all the time, Draco's determination! Who would she go to when she needed to be cheered up? Who would happily do homework with her? Who wouldn't mind spending a whole afternoon just talking to her? And who the hell else could supply her with a good banter, laugh, and kiss all within the same minute?

"Hermione I-" Ginny's voice cut into her, her eyes looking giant and sad, "Of course you can go to him if that's what you want...Go."

The boys released their grips on her arm and Hermione's feet softly touched the ground feeling totally detached from reality. Because here she was, Hermione Granger, rushing over to Draco Malfoy's side like a woman possessed in front of all her Gryffindor friends.

Crouched down on wobbling knees she gingerly lifted a hand and held it against the little of his chest that was uncovered. Seconds seemed like an eternity when finally, she felt him inhale. Hermione cried out in relief and broke down sobbing all over again, the feeling beginning to return to her numb extremities.

"Oh God," Draco groaned with pain and she liked to think he could sense it was her there and not just a nobody. She smiled softly at the thought of what his retort would be if she told him that.

Hermione reached out to gently stroke his hair, "Draco," she breathed, "Draco it's me. Don't worry OK? You've just been hurt pretty badly, but Dumbledore is on his way," he cracked his eyes open, "I need you to stay still until he gets here alright?"

His gaze was unfocused, "Have I been in a quidditch accident?"

"No," she answered with a calm she didn't know she possessed, "It's not quidditch, but you're going to be perfectly alright."

Malfoy grimaced and it was a moment before he spoke again, "I heard you telling your little Gryffindor friends about everything."

Hermione's heart felt full to bursting upon hearing him bring that up at a moment like this, "I know, but we can talk about that later, right now you need to save your energy."

His eyes found hers and they were her whole world, "But you," his voice was so soft that she had to lean in, "You're what I've been saving my energy for this entire time."

"Draco I-"

"Because you must know by now," she felt her swollen eyes prickle with tears again, "You must know that I love you."

He loved her.

"Miss Granger," A hand tapped her shoulder and she turned around, staring into a face adorned with half-moon spectacles,

"Professor Dumbledore!" She exclaimed with relief, feeling fuzzy and drunk on Draco's last words and just on him in general, the people in the background coming back into focus. She had momentarily forgotten where she was. "You're here!"

He smiled slightly in greeting and then bent down at Draco's side to get to work, muttering all sorts of incantations and healing spells. Madame Pomfrey seemed to appear beside him out of thin air.

"How is he Albus?"

Dumbledore peered at her over his glasses, "He'll need to spend some time in the Hospital Wing Poppy under your watchful eye...but with the right treatment he should recover fully."

He extracted Draco from beneath the sign and lifted his body with a hovering charm, hopping on a broom in the process. He moved to kick off, but Hermione put out a hand to stop him, acting completely on her heart's orders now,

"Wait!" She drew a broom of her own in the air, "I'm coming with you Professor." Dumbledore gave her a puzzled stare from behind his half-moon spectacles,

"You do know that you'll be able to see him as soon as you return to the castle Miss Granger?"

Hermione nodded, "I do know Professor it's just..." She looked down into the face she had once loved to hate and smiled glowingly,

"I can't lose him."

Dumbledore seemed to understand and motioned for her to mount her broom and follow him,

"Very well," he turned away from her and beamed triumphantly into the night sky, "Just make sure not to get lost on the fly over."

"Don't worry," Hermione promised, still looking into those stormy grey eyes, "I won't."


	14. Chapter 14

Sometimes an emotionally gruelling evening can be far more taxing than a physically gruelling one.

Unable to fall asleep, even after she had been repeatedly reassured that no permanent damage had been done and all would certainly be well, Hermione Jean Granger lay dappled in the chilly moonlight staring at the ceiling of the Hospital Wing.

The last few hours kept replaying themselves on the insides of her eyelids and she could not to bear to watch them a thousandth time. Instead, her eyes would remain resolutely wide open. The only thought that remained filtering through her stubbornly awake and slightly numb brain;

Well, that was an interesting and unforeseen development.

Because, apparently witnessing the near death of a worst enemy, turned more-than-that, turned friend could provoke the most passionate and primal of emotions in a fiercely independent and rational girl such as herself.

And it was making her think the most absurd things! Him as the only water in an endless desert, the last bit of oxygen in outer space, the lone shelter in the frigid cold, that vital tub of ice cream on a lonely night, the solitary book in the library!

She moved tiredly to her left side sighing as her solitary book came into view, oblivious to the new terrain of the world around him.

"It is fucking terrifying," Hermione whispered to his sleeping form, "Being this vulnerable. Having your own happiness and well being so out of your control," her thoughts flashed to his last months of hardship after his return and she smiled a little, "...though you already know that."

Hermione didn't know what love should feel like. The world around her seemed to describe it as an intense, burning, irrepressible emotion that had you struggling against ripping your mate's clothes off every moment of the day and night and that if this wasn't the case, then it was not true love.

But sometimes she was furious with him, and she knew even after tonight she would be furious with him again. That some nights she might not even want to see him, let alone strip every bit of clothing off of his Adonis-like body. What then, did this mean?

Maybe love was being able to say you want to be with this person forever. You can envision the wedding, the kids, the lack of kids, the house, the growing old – the whole enchilada. But was this even possible? Can a person ever be absolutely certain about what will happen between them and another in the future? Because Hermione, being as rational as she is, did not feel sure.

Or maybe, it was knowing the other person inside and out. Every itsy, bitsy thing about someone however inane and annoying that thing was. An image of her and him on a newlywed show flashed across her mind,

"Mrs Malfoy, which is Draco's favourite toe on his left foot?"

"...No idea," the real Hermione said to thin, night air. Or was it morning? She glanced glassy-eyed at the clock. Ah. Morning then.

The sleeping man shifted positions and her heart constricted and limbs tensed. After moments passed that felt like hours he was immobile with sleep again and his breathing relaxed, and though it literally took minutes for her body to loosen, it did.

Hermione shivered and pulled the covers of the hospital bed up around her shoulders, maybe it was being scared completely shitless?

She shifted onto her back again to continue her intent study of the Hospital Wing ceiling. Whatever love was, Hermione sure as hell didn't know. Everyone wants it, but it refuses to be pinned down by a definition. When exactly did one "fall in love?" Was it in an instant? One moment you didn't love him, the next moment poof love? Was it a gradual process? You could be "falling in love with someone," but what if you didn't end up falling all the way? Had you still been in love?

Gosh, what would Draco say if he could hear her thoughts right now? To let her instincts guide her most likely, and not to worry so much about the definitions of things. Well, easy for him to say - dead to the world on the bed next to her without a care aside from a fairly serious head injury. He didn't need to mull over his emotions, he was quite certain and upfront about his feelings for her.

Which were that he loved her, if you hadn't already caught that. Loved her. That's right. Her. Hermione Jean Granger.

She didn't mind reliving that particular moment of the previous evening, half convinced that he would forget the entire episode whenever he decided to wake up. Hermione could not take things like a confession of love for granted, you never knew when it would suddenly be retracted, or forgotten as a side effect of head trauma.

He shifted again and she held her breath, every inch of her so aware of him that she buzzed. It was as if she possessed a Draco Malfoy Radar. Again his breathing calmed, and again she could relax. Her dry, sleepless eyes met the clock once more. Time was moving so slowly it was going backwards, she was convinced, at this rate the night would never end.

Although, that might not be a bad thing. Because she had absolutely no idea how to face the morning.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was positively humming with gossip, curiosity, and vitality that had been missing for quite some time. Saturday morning coated the grounds in a healthy dose of clear sunshine and no frost was left to crunch underfoot. Buds were spotted on trees and the scent of spring washed over the staff and student body, heightening the mood inside the castle to near hysterical heights. Slytherins were spotted walking jauntily through the halls without even a trace of a scowl upon their faces, Professor Snape's hair didn't seem quite so greasy, and even Headmaster Dumbledore's eyes seemed to be twinkling more than usual.

Up in the Hospital Wing a fuzzy-minded male gradually blinked open his eyes. They hurt. He moved a muscled arm to rub at his sore eyes and it hurt too. Come to think of it, he began wiggling his body gingerly, there didn't seem to be a bit of his anatomy that didn't hurt.

"Urggg," he groaned in annoyance and heard a squeak and flash of movement from his right, accompanied by a shock of wild, bushy, brown hair. Hmm. Something about the bushiness reminded him of someone...

Someone sexy.

Someone intelligent.

Someone anal.

"Hermione?" He managed to croak out.

He heard her inhale to his right followed by the scuffle of her shoes as she moved closer to him. His searching eyes instinctively locked onto hers as he scanned her current state of disarray – her pointless attempt to tame her wild hair into an up-do, her brown eyes reddened by stress and lack of , her rumpled jumper and skirt from the night before...and it was his turn to steady himself with a deep breath. She was breathtaking.

His numerous injuries had unfortunately failed to erase his memory of the previous night and his horribly botched confession of love. On the one hand he knew his feelings were painfully obvious, but even after months of making a fool of himself to win her affection, it could not compare to this feeling of utter vulnerability. He felt literally naked. Scratch that, he felt worse. He felt figuratively naked. And there was no way to tone his figuratively naked physique for bikini season.

Draco smiled weakly. "Hey," he began, "You look exhausted." He mentally hit himself, figuratively naked and insulting. Amazing.

Thankfully, Hermione had the grace to simply return his weak smile. "Yeah..." she agreed slowly, "It's been an exhausting few hours."

Neither could prevent sharing a fleeting and loaded look and it made him feel slightly better. He realized that her eyes shone just as vulnerable as he felt.

Hermione was finding it extremely difficult to maintain her composure when his hair insisted on falling across his forehead like that. Or when his arms and jaw tensed in such a masculine way. Or when his smile tugged so alluringly at his lips. Or especially, when his eyes were so sincere. They were honest eyes, they were open eyes, and they were letting her in and telling her everything she wanted to know or ever wanted to believe.

There was not a trace of the Malfoy she once knew and loathed to be found.

She lightly shook her head with disbelief, "You're different." She said the first thing that came to her mind. If this was going to work, she knew from now on she must be as honest as he was being with her. She must be honest with everyone.

He looked puzzled as her statement hung in the air.

"I just," she cleared her throat, "I didn't notice it until right now. You really are different Draco."

"Ok," he nodded slowly, "Is this a bad different?"

Hermione chuckled, "That depends."

Draco was mildly taken aback, "Depends?"

"I mean," she began hurriedly; "This is all so surreal isn't it? And real. It's like I'm five years older or something...or watching a movie about somebody else...this doesn't happen in real life. Or, at least that's what I've always believed."

"You mean," his tone had turned more playful, "Devilishly handsome purebloods don't often fall head over heels for average muggle borns?"

"Oh please," her eyes danced with mirth as they met his, "If anything, muggle borns are not usually won over by a pureblood's laughable attempt at courtship."

He laughed, "Clearly muggle fairy tales are filling your helpless heads with rubbish and setting you up for certain failure."

"Or," she smiled, "Your lot are not half as charming as you like to think."

All his pain somehow forgotten, Draco motioned to his flawless torso and face, "Seriously Hermione? Are you trying to convince yourself that this is in any way not charming?"

"You are insufferable," she laughed and sank down on the bed in which she had just spent torturous hours waiting for this moment. Yet, it was so easy. So natural. In here with just the two of them. Her heart quickened. This was frightening. She couldn't ignore the situation now if she tried.

"Insufferably charming," he insisted as he relaxed into his pillows. "Oh man," he breathed, "That was sure one hell of a hit to the head."

"Yeah," she gulped, "I'm really sorry about everything. Are you alright?"

"All systems seem to be a go for the moment," he answered then turned to her looking serious, "It really can't be all bad since Pomfrey hasn't even been out to check on me yet. And you don't need to apologize; it was all Weasley's fault."

Hermione was inclined to agree. So she ignored his last comment.

"Everyone assured me," she began instead, "That you would make a full recovery last night so that's good. Merlin knows I would lose my mind if I had to take on all of your duties again."

He chuckled, "Yeah. I'm sorry about that by the way. I was really rude to you on New Year's. I was a jerk."

"Good to see you can finally admit it."

He rolled his eyes, "I guess I deserved that."

She fingered her necklace, "You should be glad that's all you're getting after the endless torment you've given me over the years," she sighed, "I hope the future kicked your butt."

"Trust me," he thought darkly about the car and the manor, "It sure did."

Hermione turned to face him instinctively taking in every tempting bit. Even bruised and battered he was surely the best looking man on the planet. Yeah. The planet. Things were beginning to go in the 'he is the only book in the library' direction.

Her body began humming. Her palms began sweating. Her Draco Malfoy Radar ached to go to him like the strongest magnet and to learn about all of the things Draco Malfoy had learned in the future. Dear lord since when did she think such filthy things? It was like a disease taking over. Her tummy did flip flops as his eyes turned dark with what was unmistakably desire. How was a man with such recent blunt trauma able to be so...so...Malfoy.

"This is still all so surreal," she said breathily.

"What's surreal," had his eyes just darkened further? "Is that you are still trying to fight it."

"It's my muggle born instinct to fight it," she challenged, her voice was barely above a whisper, his current invalid state making her bolder than was natural.

His response was to sit up. Wait...now he was standing up? Now...now...WALKING OVER? DEAR LORD WAS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?

"I was predicted to make a full recovery remember?"

Her whole system was short circuiting. He looked so damn deliciously predatory and now her traitorous eyes were practically begging him to ravish her.

She knew it.

He knew it.

Cripes, somehow even her grandparents knew it.

Her limbs were now lifting her out of the bed of their own accord as she struggled to breathe, "How can I feel this way?"

His hand ran gently through her hair, "Chemistry my dear."

Somehow her arm had snaked its way around his neck, she could inhale his scent forever. "Chemistry? I thought you never took muggle studies?" She was losing the battle to keep her head clear, his closeness was too intoxicating.

"What on Earth," He breathed hot against her neck and ear, "Has chemistry got to do with muggle studies?"

Nothing.

All of her kisses with Draco had burned, crackled, and sizzled in all the right places, but none were like this. The Hospital Wing shook, Hogwarts trembled, England saw shooting stars and double rainbows, the Earth moved, the planets rejoiced.

Okay, perhaps she was exaggerating. Slightly. But it felt as if all of that was actually happening. Simply because his lips were on hers.

And that was how Hermione knew, she was falling in love.

About sixty-three kilometres away a muggle had his first taste of butter beer. Terran Granger eyed Albus Dumbledore suspiciously as he swilled the unfamiliar liquid in his glass. It wasn't the fact that the man was dressed in outrageous clothing, or that he looked over one hundred years old, or even that he appeared to have a mythological bird perched on a chair close by.

No, he had seen his fair share of the impossibly strange ever since Hermione received her Hogwarts letter roughly seven years ago. He could not be more proud and he still felt the same. But it was times like these when he wondered what could have been if...how things could have been different if...if Hermione wasn't a witch.

He tried to push his doubts aside, but only succeeded in regarding what Dumbledore was holding with even more distrust.

"So you're trying to tell me Dumbledore..." Terran began, "That Hermione is destined to fall in love with this...this...hateful boy?"

Dumbledore nodded serenely, "I completely understand your objections Mr Granger and I promise that I have expressed my numerous own to the Department." Dumbledore sighed, "I'm afraid they have been taking prophecies like this much more seriously since the last one was so accurate."

"Ah," Terran nodded, knowing Dumbledore was referring to Hermione's good friend Harry Potter.

"Ok I get that," Terran continued, the whole thing still nagging at him, "But the government didn't interfere with the Potter prophecy," he was becoming more aggravated by the second, "How can it be considered destiny if it needs to be manipulated?"

"I know Mr Granger I-"

"I mean, as you said, they live in the same living quarters, they've known each other for seven years...if-if" he stammered angrily, "If it hasn't happened by now then I don't think it will bloody happen at all! I won't be responsible for tricking my daughter into falling for this sodding Malfoy chap!"

Dumbledore continued to nod sympathetically, his eyes shining with concern behind his half moon spectacles.

"Terran," he placed a hand on the man's shoulder warmly, "I understand that this is extremely overwhelming. Though I am not Hermione's father, I regard all of the students as if they were my own," Terran waited for him to continue, "I know this must feel as if you are, as you said, tricking your daughter, but I promise you what the department is suggesting is just a little...helping hand."

Dumbledore paused, knowing he needed to choose his next works wisely, "The department wanted to be far more invasive at first and have me arrange some sort of 'engagement' between the two, but I refused. I, however, could not help suggesting an arrangement that would allow feelings to sprout organically between them."

He looked sincerely into Mr Granger's eyes and squeezed his shoulder, "I didn't do it because of the prophecy, but because they were so cruel to the other even though..." he let his hand fall from Terran's shoulder, "They cared about each other. They just needed to be thrust in a situation where they would be forced to admit it."

Terran swallowed a lump in his throat, touched by Dumbledore's fondness and concern for his students. He reached for the object in Dumbledore's hand; it was a golden necklace.

"So you're saying," Terran said softly, "That sending this necklace to Hermione for her birthday won't...won't bewitch her? I'm-I'm not doing wrong by her? She's my only daughter Dumbledore, my only child."

Dumbledore smiled, "I promise. If Hermione is not meant to be with this boy, then this necklace will not magically make that happen. Once you agree I will have arrangements made for her to receive this necklace from her grandparents, your parents, on her 17th birthday."

"But Dumbledore," Terran furrowed his brow, "Hermione's 17th birthday was..." Dumbledore gave him a knowing look and Terran felt sheepish. "Oh right what am I saying? I guess not being a part of your world you...forget...sometimes."

Terran released a sigh of relief. He trusted Dumbledore and he knew Hermione trusted him, so what reason did he have now not to agree?

He extended his hand and Dumbledore shook it, "Ok Dumbledore," he heaved another relief-filled sigh telling himself this was for the best, "I agree. Let's do it."

Summer had burst into full swing and Hermione was constantly feeling like she'd received the world's most relaxing massage. Exams were over, she came out top of her class, and lazy days stretched endlessly before her.

She gave her tomato sauce another taste, blowing it cool and slurping it hungrily, managing to spill some on the stove top in the process, "Drat," she mumbled searching for something to mop it up. Just as she was bending to retrieve a tea towel strong arms encircled her from behind.

"Something smells delicious," the arms' owner teased in her ear, "And I'm not talking about the sauce."

She giggled and swatted him off, still amazed that he was here. In her 'lowly' muggle kitchen. And enjoying it. She turned to face him, her mission to wipe the stove top completely forgotten,

"Something is also insufferable, and I'm not talking about the sauce either!"

He laughed and scooped her into his arms kissing her senseless, drunk with every sensation. The sticky humidity, the scent of her sweet sweat and her hair mingled with the intoxicating aroma of her sauce, the cool and intermittent breeze of the fan, the indescribable softness of her lips and the way he felt he could be happy if all he ever did was kiss them.

It was disgusting, it was pathetic, but it was true.

The timer buzzed barely bringing them back to reality. "Sauce is done!" She announced as she pulled back slightly from their embrace. "Let's continue this later," she said softly in his ear as she heard her parents move towards the kitchen.

He grudgingly let her go and finished setting the table while she put her final touches on the meal. Terran and Victoria entered the kitchen smiling and thanking him for helping with dinner.

He smiled back, a real smile, honestly feeling that there was no place else he would rather be in the world. There was something thrilling about doing things without magic. All that working with your hands was very...sensual. He also happened to be quite talented at doing things 'The Muggle Way.' A skill, he told Hermione, the he attributed to his Malfoyness. Needless to say, she found his attribution ridiculously ironic.

He seated himself at the table and Hermione plopped herself in the chair next to his and squeezed his hand, "It's nothing much," she shrugged, but he wouldn't be so modest.

"As a witness, I can attest that Hermione took painstaking measures to get this sauce just right," she squeezed his hand again and pecked his cheek as her parents chuckled amicably.

"If I know my daughter," Terran smiled, "I can bet that she did."

Draco cleared his throat while lifting a glass, "If I may," He began, "I would like to propose a toast."

"Here, here!" They chorused, their glasses joining his

"To..." he turned to her, "Hermione. Head Girl, top of her class," she rolled her eyes self-deprecatingly and shook her head, "Prettiest girl in the class-"

"Draco!" She chastised.

"What? It's true. And I think it's unfair that they don't have that award as you clearly deserve it."

"Good thing they don't have an award for Top Git, you'd have won hands down."

"You forgot to add Most Attractive, Wittiest, Best Smirk-"

"Largest Ego, Palest Skin-"

"Top Know It All, Creator of the Most Useless Club-"

"S.P.E.W. is not useless!"

"..."

She slammed her glass down on the table, "Malfoy!"

Hermione's parents exchanged a glance and lowered their glasses in exasperation, both quite familiar with this line of interaction between their daughter and Draco Malfoy.

"Ok, fine fine!" His also lowered his glass, "Creator of a Fairly Useless Club-"

She pinned him with her most intense gaze. Her dark eyes flashed mischievously,

"World's Worst Hairstyle."

"Hermione!" He looked affronted, both of them now completely unaware of her parents' presence while in the throes of their fierce battle of wits, "That was below the belt."

"Honestly, I don't know how your neck used to support your head with the amount of gel you had slathered on it. It was out of control."

"Do you really," he raised his eyebrows, "Want to get in a battle about hair and out-of-controlness." He stared pointedly at a spot above her forehead.

"Point taken," she acquiesced and turned to face her parents, "So where were we?" Noting their expressions, hers became sheepish, "Ah...sorry. I guess we um...got too heated again...sorry." She sensed Draco shrink slightly beside her, probably feeling even more sheepish than she did.

Her dad, thankfully, waved away her apology and raised his glass towards Draco again with the others following suit, "No worries. While that toast was slightly more interesting than the speech you gave at graduation Malfoy," Draco nodded and laughed, "It'll have to do. To Hermione!"

"To Hermione!" They cheered clinking their glasses together and drinking heartily before digging into their dinner. It was every bit as delicious as they all knew it would be.

As Hermione spun spaghetti around her fork and made sure it was smothered in sauce she thought back to graduation. About the speech her father had just mentioned...

The last month of that semester had been a blur to put it mildly. What with final exams, speeches to prepare, goodbyes to be said, and having to endure the stares of the entire student body (including some staff) practically screaming at her that she-was-crazy-to-ever-trust-Draco-Malfoy-let-alone-voluntarily-date-him...things had been a little – insane.

Things had also been good. She and Ginny had made up and Harry had even begun to tolerate Draco's presence in their final days at Hogwarts. Not much could be said for Ron, however, who was still extremely embittered although he was now happily dating Lavender Brown.

Things had also been wonderful. Taking a chance with Malfoy had been petrifying, but also one of the best decisions she had ever made in her life. Although, it was not as if she had much choice as her body seemed to have made that decision for her. The traitorous minx.

While she was still plagued by the occasional doubt, Hermione stuck to her decision to be honest. When she felt doubtful, she told Draco. When she was officially Draco's girlfriend, she told her friends. And when she wanted to be kissed to within an inch of her life, she screamed it to Draco at the top of her lungs.

Speaking of which...

"Draco?" She called, her voice echoing in their Common Room.

Silence.

Hermione pouted, she knew he was in here somewhere!

"Draco!" she screamed even louder, "Malfoy! Help come quick! I need your help!"

She smiled smugly as she heard him race out from the bathroom, apparently mid shower as he was wearing only a towel wrapped around his delicious waist.

"What-what's wrong?" he sputtered looking decidedly frazzled, "Are you alright? Are you? ...Are you?" Realization slowly dawned on him as he dripped all over the floor.

"Are you kidding me? I was in the middle of a shower."

"I'm terribly sorry," she cooed moving towards him, "But can you blame me? How am I supposed to cope being around such an attractive," she stroked a wet strand of his hair, "Intelligent," she kissed a water droplet off his chest, "Sexy," she tugged him to her by his towel, "Slytherin?"

The effect she had on him was instantaneous, "What have I done?" He groaned, though admittedly not putting up much of a fight, "I've created a monster! What happened to the sweet Gryffindor girl I fell in love with?"

She placed a feather soft kiss on his mouth, "Am I not sweet to you anymore Draco?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

"No," he kissed her back hungrily, "You're still sweet, but now you know how much I like you. You're sick with power."

"It's not my fault," her kisses were searing, "You've completely ruined me."

"Granger," he managed huskily, "If you don't stop that we are going to be late to graduation. Where, need I remind you, we are both supposed to deliver speeches."

She shot him a smirk so similar to his own it was frightening, "I've never known a deadline to stop you before."

"It's not me I'm worried about honey," he shot his own smirk back at her, "We all know how you get about punctuality, preparation, speeches-"

She kissed him because he was so damn irresistible in that towel, but also to shut him up. Now was not time for one of their infamous spats. "Did I mention that I still need to shower?"

He hesitated only for a moment, "Understood."

Two hours later they had managed to make themselves presentable and were seated in front of all of their peers, all of the their peers' families, and many distinguished members of the wizarding community.

Hermione tried to focus on her speech, but her mind was racing with sublime memories of her afternoon with Draco...

Malfoy, on the other hand, looked uncharacteristically nervous. His leg was bouncing, his hands were fiddling, and he was even paler than usual. Though dating Hermione was even more wonderful than he could imagine, it had not been easy on her.

He hated that. Hated that she was forced to feel guilty and stupid on a daily basis just because she dated him. So he decided he needed to put an end to it. Today. Right now.

"Mr Malfoy?"

He looked up, he saw Dumbledore nodding encouragingly at him.

"If you would be so kind as to deliver your speech?"

Draco nodded, his heart beating uncontrollably in his chest, unable to look at Hermione as he made his way to the podium because he didn't want her to see him looking so damned anxious.

He cleared his throat, wiping his sweaty palms on the podium's wood, his voice magically enhanced now that he was standing there.

"Thank you professor Dumbledore," he could feel her eyes on the back of his head, "As we all know," his heart rate began to slow, "I've had my fair share of troubled times at Hogwarts."

The audience rumbled with laughter.

"But I wouldn't trade any of them for the world," his voice grew strong and his tone serious. "I know that most of the people in this room don't trust me and I understand that. I have been cruel, heartless, rude, obnoxious, arrogant, a bully – you name it. I am afraid that I tormented many of you sitting out there right now," he paused, "I would like to take this moment to say I'm sorry."

He scanned the crowd slowly, glad to find everyone hushed and rapt with attention.

"But if my days at Hogwarts have taught me one thing," He continued, "It is this: forgiveness. Forgiveness literally saved my life. Forgiveness from one person," he swallowed, "In particular. In this world we live in it's a miracle we aren't all twisted with hate and narrow minds, that we are blessed to find among us those still willing to forgive and be open. We are stronger united, and no one has made this more clear or set a better example than Professor Dumbledore,"

Cheers erupted in the crowd.

"I know I am an extremely difficult person to forgive, but what I don't understand is how this community would be willing to turn their backs on another for simply associating with someone different."

Hermione's attention on the ceremony was now unshakeable. Was she really doing what she thought he was doing? Her heart clenched painfully in her chest and she was afraid she would pass out from being unable to breathe. Ever since Draco was injured she knew she was falling for him, hard, but she had never said it. Never told him.

Whether it was the guilt-inducing stares or those pesky tugs of doubt, she didn't know, but it stopped her. She had discussed her feelings with Draco, but something was still holding her back.

"Hermione Granger forgave me. Hermione Granger was able to trust me. All of you can think of me what you want, but please don't punish her. She truly is the most brilliant witch of our age and still the most caring and thoughtful person that she has always been and that is why I fell in love with her. And I'm selfish and impatient so I pursued her in every way I possibly could and through some miracle I finally convinced her to give me a chance."

There was more laughter from the crowd mixed in with some sniffles from the ladies now.

"And today I wanted to share that with you, the greatest example of forgiveness at this school and it happened to me. I hope we can always remember the lesson of forgiveness that we learned here."

The clapping began slowly, then grew to a thunderous roar, then people were on their feet crying out with joy and excitement. The sound was deafening and the mood was impossible to escape.

Malfoy turned to go to Hermione, but she had beaten him to it.

She kissed him as tears ran down her face, her heart finally free of doubt and of guilt,

"I love you Draco Malfoy," she told him.

"What?" Streamers and confetti were raining down around them now and fireworks were whizzing through the air and exploding.

"I LOVE YOU!" She screamed, her voice picked up by the podium and chorusing throughout the hall. He hugged her tightly to him, never wanting to let her go,

"I love you too Granger. See? I told you I would win."

"Must you always be such a prat?"

He kissed her thoroughly, "I think you know the answer to that. Also, I think I need to sit down."

"Why?"

"Because courting you is exhausting."

"Draco!" She slapped him playfully on the arm.

"Did I also mention it was worth it?"

She kissed him, "I guess we'll find out," she laughed, "You better hope you're not wrong!"

"Hermione you forget where I've been," he winked and she nodded.

"Ah yes that's right. How could I forget? It's what started this whole mess..."

"Exactly. I don't think I'm right, I know it."

In all the jubilant commotion Hermione's speech was forgotten, but it didn't matter. All that needed to be said was said, all that needed to be done was done.

From the second row Terran Granger held his wife's hand and watched his only child with moist eyes. Dumbledore came over and gave him a firm handshake. The men shared a happy look of a plan gone well.

"You remember what I said about the future?"

Terran nodded, "I remember."

"That boy is going to need help Mr Granger; it isn't going to be pretty."

"I know," Terran agreed, still touched by Draco's words about forgiveness, "But it will be worth it. They both deserve this."

Holding Hermione's arm as they stood waiting behind the closed double doors many years later, Terran still firmly believed in his decision...


	15. Chapter 15

Epilogue: Courted

He looked at his daughter standing elegantly beside him and a lump formed in his throat. She had grown up into such a beautiful young woman. He was so lucky.

The muffled music from the other side of the door swelled and she gripped onto his arm tighter. He told her softly to relax. That everything would be OK.

The doors opened and every eye was glued to Hermione as they set foot down the aisle, she was happiness personified standing amongst the peers who had once so fully doubted her choice to trust Malfoy all those years ago. But Terran was not paying much attention to her peers; he was searching for one peer in particular.

If all had gone according to plan, then the teenage Draco should be watching this memory from the Pensieve right now and should be somewhere in this audience. He scanned the crowd anxiously, praying that the boy would be there, that he wasn't too stubborn or hopeless when he saw him-

Love struck. In the very back row. Mouth agape, stretched tall with the impossibly lean physique possessed only by the young, looking at his daughter like she was the only woman on the planet. His breath caught witnessing Draco Malfoy fall in love with Hermione, but he had to stick to the plan. It was very important.

"Hermione look!" He motioned to the row where the teenage Draco was seated and her head turned slowly and stopped. Almost as if...as if...she could see him?

The moment was over so quickly, Terran could not be sure.

They continued down the aisle, Hermione's grip far more relaxed on his arm, and then they had finally reached Draco. Terran leaned forward, placing Hermione's veil back onto her hair so her face was now uncovered. She hugged him and he told her that he loved her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

When she pulled back he saw it in her eyes. She knew.

It was him. All along.

"Thank you," she repeated giving him one final hug, before turning towards the man that she loved. The man that she had come so close to missing.

She smiled looking into his eyes as she recalled his teenage doppelganger from the back of the church. Realizing now everything he had seen on his journey to their future.

Draco winked knowingly, gently reaching for her hands, "See what you put me through Granger?"

She laughed, "I'm so glad you decided to pursue me after all that!"

"I hope so. It was a very un-Malfoy thing of me to do. I courted my wife."

But just like a Malfoy, he had succeeded.

THE END!


End file.
